Wolfdog Chief, The
by TheWriterForGod42
Summary: Join Prince Balto as he goes through the Circle of Life in order to become Chief of the Territories.
1. Cast List

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Balto or the story of The Lion King, only the story. The characters of Balto belongs to Universal and the story and songs of The Lion King belongs to Disney. They only thing that I do own is the OC of the story. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

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 **The Wolfdog Chief Cast List**

 **Cast:**

Simba **–** Balto

Nala **–** Jenna

Scar **–** Steele

Mufasa **–** Nava

Sarabi **–** Aniu

Sarafina **–** Eve

Timon **–** Muru

Pumbaa **–** Mluk

Rafiki **–** Boris

Zazu **–** Paddy

Shenzi **–** Dusk

Banzai **–** Sunrise

Ed **–** Ed

Setting:

Pride Rock **–** Wolf's Peak

Pridelands **–** Territories

Elephant Graveyard **–** Boat Graveyard

Hakuna Matata Jungle **–** Hakuna Matata Forest

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Author's Note: Just a little something to tell who will be portraying who and what the places are called. This is part of the start of my more Common Side Lion King stories. And I have a much longer line of them than my Unique stories. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. Enjoy you, guys. See you next time.


	2. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Balto or the story of The Lion King, only the story. The characters of Balto belongs to Universal and the story and songs of The Lion King belongs to Disney. They only thing that I do own is the OC's of the story. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

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 **The Wolfdog Chief Prologue**

A Long Time Ago:

The sun had just risen on a winter's morning in Alaska. The day was a cold one as a trio of humans had started to pack up their campsite. One of the men dressed in a green sailor's suit picked up a crate of supplies and took it to the ship. As he walked by, another seafarer wearing a red sailor's suit walked up and said, "I can't believe how rough the sea can be here."

"I know, right, Huey?" The first man said. Then he looked to his left and said, "It's a shame what happened to all of those fishing and other types of boats. Not to mention the people who had been shipwrecked."

What they were looking at were an entire fleet of boats run aground; completely turned over or just tilting on their sides. Some had a few small punctures while others would have a huge gaping hole. The two men continued to walk towards a dinghy that sat in the shallows. When he placed his load into the small boat, a thought came to him and he asked, "What are we going to do with all of the sled dogs that we brought with us?"

This caused the Huey to stop and think about it before asking his own question, "How many dogs did we bring with us, again, Louie?"

"I think a few hundred to be exact. Plus, I think a few of the girl dogs might be expecting pups." Louie guessed. This caused another man dressed in a blue sailor's uniform that was walking by to over hear them and said, "It'll be a few months before we get back, and we don't really have enough to feed them for the journey."

"When you think about it, and I hate to suggest it," Huey suggested something really drastic, "but maybe they should be left here."

"Well," Louie said as he took a look around. Then he remembered as he said, "I've seen plenty of game here, plus, there's plenty of space for them. I pretty sure they could be fine." Then he turned to the third man and asked, "What do you think, Dewey?"

"I think it would be best if we did." Dewey admitted it. Then he ordered, "After we load up all the gear from shore, we should be able to bring the dogs back ashore about seven at a time."

"Sounds like a plan that we may or may not regret." Louie said. Huey then ordered, "If we're all good then, let's finish loading up the dinghy."

With their new plan in mind, all three of them got to work.

Many an hour had passed, and as the trio brought in the last of the sled dogs. The pack of dogs were made up of a mixture of breeds ranging from huskies, malamutes and many others built for the frozen temperatures of Alaska. As the dingy reached the shore, the sled dogs quickly jumped out of the boat and frantically ran for land. When they reached it, they looked back with their tales wagging. But their happy wags stopped as they watched the three humans row away from the shore. All the other dogs ran up and stood side by side to watch the three humans leave them.

All the dogs threw back their heads and let out long, and sorrowful howls. But the three humans didn't look or turn back for them.

Sunset (Boat Graveyard)

The sun began to set over the ocean as the dogs took shelter in some of the boats. Each occupied boat had at least ten dogs inside them. In the biggest boat, the ten dogs sat with sad looks on their faces. A black furred female malamute turned to a brown furred male husky and asked, "Why did they leave us, Godwin?"

"I'm not sure, Delilah." Godwin admitted as he laid down and placed his head on his paws. But their sorrow would turn to fear as a low growling sound could be heard from the outside. Godwin sat up as he looked to the hole to see what the growling sound was. All ten dogs gasped when they saw a pack of wolverines slink into the boat. Their fur was as red as dried blood. One of the wolverines started to chuckle evilly before asking, "What do we have here, my friends?"

"It looks like a pack of sniveling dogs, chief." A wolverine sneered while jumping onto a crate. Godwin stepped in front of his friends to protect them and he said, "Look, we don't want any trouble. We're-"

"Lost?" The leader of this group of badgers guessed. Then he dug deeper by saying, "Or maybe a better word would be abandoned, cast out, thrown out like garbage by those worthless humans."

"Now wait a minute," Godwin tried to defend them, but the wolverine then said, "Don't get all high and mighty, dog! This is our boatyard now. So get out!"

"But, we have no where else to go." Delilah said in fear. The wolverine put on a sad face while saying, "Oh, you don't?" Then his face turned into an ugly sneer as he shouted, "Well, too bad!"

Godwin was about to say something when he heard a noise coming from outside. Dog's from the other boats were growling or yelping in pain. Godwin looked to the badger leader and questioned, "What's going on?"

"Oh, that?" The wolverine said with a smirk. Then he acted superior by saying, "That's just the sound of your fellow cowardly dogs being either kicked out or meeting their doom."

"Why you little-" Godwin said before springing at the wolverine. Both animals went down in ball of teeth and claws. Godwin bit down on the wolverine's shoulder, causing him to yell out in pain. But Godwin soon felt pain in his flank when two other wolverines bit into him. The other dogs came to his aid and tried to pull them off of him. As soon as Godwin let go of the wolverine leader, all of them tumbled backwards. Godwin looked to his fellow dogs and shouted, "Everyone, get out now!"

None of the nine other dogs needed to be told twice and bolted for the hole. But before they could even make it out, more wolverines appeared and blocked the entrance. Godwin and the other dogs' ears flattened as they began to feel like it was hopeless as the wolverines began to back them into a corner. The lead wolverine started to take point in front of the others and slunk towards the dogs. And just when he was about to attack them, a long and harmonious howl rang out from outside the boat.

"Oh no! Not them. Not now." One of the wolverines cried out and looked behind. They were right to be worried as wolves came rushing in through the hole. Godwin nor the other dogs could believe their eyes as the wolves put themselves between the dogs and the wolverines. One of the wolves turned to the ten dogs and ordered, "If any of you value your lives, then you must flee from this place now."

Godwin nor any of the other dogs hesitated and ran around both wolf and wolverine. But the wolverines looked in fury as their leader shouted, "NO! Do not let them escape!"

The other wolverines followed his commands and ran to intercept the dogs. But the wolves acted quickly as well by charging at them. Godwin and most of the others were almost to the hole when a yelp of pain caused him to stop. Looking back he saw that Delilah had fallen behind. Not only that, but she was quickly surrounded by the wolverines. One came close to her, but not wanting to see a friend get hurt, Godwin ran forward while shouting, "NO!"

He jumped just in time as the wolverine tried to strike at her, but received a deep gash on his flank. The black and white husky nearly fell down, but was able to stay on his feet to give the wolverine a kick to the face with his back paw. The blow sent the wolverine staggering backwards and allowing both dogs to run out. Godwin and Delilah quickly rejoined the others outside the boat and headed further inland.

Turning to his left, Godwin looked to see all the other dogs running for their lives as well. But his wondering eyes became his downfall as a wolverine tackled him from the side. Godwin cried out in pain as the vicious creature bit into the back of his neck. He tried to get up to shake the wolverine off, but it held him down while shaking its head. Then it added on the attack by slicing his left shoulder. Godwin's vision began to dim as the wolverine released him. The evil creature sneered, "Looks like it's the end for you, dog."

The red wolverine looked to finish him off by raising his claws into the air. Godwin could only lay on the ground and watch helplessly while the wolverine smirked at its apparent victory. But at the last second, a grey wolf grabbed the wolverine's paw with his teeth, making the strike miss. Then quickly pulling the wolverine while he spun, the wolf went fast enough to where he could throw the dark creature off of his feet. The wolverine yelled as it flew through the air and landed with a thud. The wolf looked to where the wolverine landed and when it didn't see a sign, he looked down to the dog. With compassion in his voice the wolf said, "Are you all right, my brother?"

"I don't know if I can get up. I don't even think I'm gonna make it." Godwin said as he felt weaker. The wolf then gently took Godwin's scruff into his mouth and maneuvered him until the dog was secure on his back. Then not wasting any more time, the wolf broke into a slow sprint away from the battle.

Night (Wolf's Peak)

They met up with the others far from the boat's and the wolverines at a giant rock formation. At the bottom of the rock formation, the wolves currently had the dogs surrounded to protect and to be wary of. The ring of wolves parted to allow the wolf with Godwin to approach the dogs. As soon as they were through the crowd, the wolf brought Godwin over to the dogs and gently removed him from his back. Godwin's breathing was starting to become shallow from his injuries.

The wolf turned to a yellow furred comrade and asked, "Did everyone make it out?"

"Unfortunately," The wolf said with his head hanging, "about eleven of the other dogs did not make it. I am sorry."

The wolf sighed at this loss, but he knew that he could not change this undesirable outcome. The dogs looked to the wolf as he said, "My name is Chief Nanook, and these," He turned his head to the pack to introduce, "are the wolves of the Territories. And this," He explained the rock formation, "is Wolf's Peak. Our home.

"We had seen your humans drop you off and leave you." Chief Nanook said, bringing up the dogs' pain again. They listened closely as he said, "I had decided to help you figure out a way to coexist with us in piece, and we were on our way to talk when we saw the wolverine clan beginning to attack you. We rushed in to help you."

Godwin sat up and asked, "Do you still wish to talk with us?"

"Godwin!" Shouted a large brown St. Bernard stepped forward with a grim frown on his face. He growled, "You do not speak for all of us, and what action-"

"The action," Godwin said while trying to stay up, "is what I believe will keep you all alive."

This shocked the dogs as Delilah stepped forward and questioned, "What do you mean?"

"I'm dying. I can feel it. That fight has cost me a lot of blood." Godwin said as he looked to his wounds. He felt dizzy for a moment and could feel himself fading. Then turning to Chief Nanook he said, "I know that this is to be asking a lot, but if you would please-"

"You ask us to help them survive." Nanook deduced. Godwin slowly nodded before pain racked through his body. He laid back down and his breathing became slower and shallower. Delilah rushed to his side and worriedly said, "Godwin!"

Godwin responded by rolling onto his back to look up at them and the sky. He turned his head to Delilah and the other dogs, his breathing ragged as he asked of them, "Please… stay safe… do whatever… it takes… to live."

He took in his final breath before closing his eyes and releasing, meaning that he was gone. Delilah began weeping for the loss of her friend while the other dogs hung their heads in equal sorrow. Nanook stepped around Godwin and when he reached the crying she-dog, he placed a comforting paw on her shoulder. Delilah turned and pressed her face into his shoulder. The other wolves were about to move when he held up that paw to stop them. It told them to stand down and they didn't hesitate to follow.

Delilah stopped crying and looked to Chief Nanook and said, "How shall we proceed? I think we can work something out."

"Oh, great." The St. Bernard groaned. Then he got all judgmental about it by saying, "I can't believe that you're actually going to try to talk with them."

"If you and any on else wish to try and brave the wilderness on your own," Delilah countered and turned to him with a grim frown, "then you do so at your own peril."

The St. Bernard and any others who had doubts didn't voice them as Delilah gave a satisfied smirk. Then she turned back to Nanook and said, "I apologize for any words from them."

"It is quite all right." Nanook said in understanding. He pointed out, "One's opinion can not be changed so easily. But if you wish to live among us, I see no true harm in it."

Delilah smiled as he said, "Now, let us become better acquainted."

Many seasons later

Much time had passed since then as the sun rose over the Territories one morning as a grey furred husky walked next to a black and white malamute over a trail. The husky sounded firm about something as he said, "I'm telling you Steele, just because the chief treats me like a son doesn't mean I'm not a dog."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, wolf lover." Steele grumbled. The husky moved in front of Steele and reassured him, "Look, you and me are like brothers. I'll always have your back when you need me."

"Yeah, I've heard that one before. So see you later, Togo." Steele said and moved around the husky. Togo sighed before following the malamute back to Wolf's Peak.

When they arrived, both dogs were greeted by the current chief and another wolf, a pitch black furred wolf of the name of Chief Raven and a grey and white wolf named Nava. Chief Raven asked, "Anything to report?"

"No disturbances along the border to the forbidden zone." Togo reported while Steele sat down and looked as if he didn't care. Chief Raven nodded in acknowledgement and said, "Well done, the both of you."

Steele didn't say anything but just walked away. Both Togo and Chief Raven watched him walk off before the latter asked, "I take it that he is upset that I plan to make you my successor?"

"No." Togo said while hanging his head. He sat down and looked a little downcast as he said, "I don't see why he and some of the other dogs have to be upset about this. I don't know if I should take the mantle of chief."

"Hmm." Chief Raven said before saying, "Togo, do you know why I picked you to take my place?"

"If I remember correctly, it's because you said that I have all that makes a good leader." Togo answered. Nava smiled at this while Chief Raven said, "That is correct, but I also believe that you and the legacy that you will make for the future of this pack will come a long way in the future. For I have seen how close you and Aniu are becoming."

"Yeah." Togo smiled as he thought of his love for the white wolf. Chief Raven then said, "I believe that with the two of you together, you may bring a brighter future for the pack and for the Territories."

"And Steele and I will be here to act as counsel for when you need it." Nava said while standing next to Togo. The three smiled for a moment before Chief Raven grunted from a twinge of pain in his chest. Both Togo and Nava moved toward him while the latter asked, "Chief Raven, are you-"

"I am fine for the moment. But I do not have long." Chief Raven said as the pain subsided. Then he brought up what he was told, "Today is my final day, just as Boris the shaman goose had predicted. I will die sometime after sunset." He looked to Togo and said, "Tonight, Togo, you will take the mantle of chief as my journey through the Circle of Life ends."

"But Chief, I'm not re-" Togo tried to say. But Chief Raven placed a reassuring paw on the husky's shoulder and said, "You are ready, Togo. And you will not be alone."

Thinking of losing his father figure, Togo said, "I sure wish it didn't have to go this way."

"Believe me, Togo. I wish I weren't leaving any of you this soon as well." Chief Raven told him. Turning to Nava, Chief Raven said, "Go inform everyone in the pack, both dog and wolf, to come to the steps of Wolf's Peak at sundown."

"Yes, Chief Raven." Nava said with a bow of his head. Then turning, the grey and white wolf sprinted away from both of them to find the members of their pack. Chief Raven looked to Togo and said, "I need you to go to Boris' tree and tell him that I am in need of him at once."

"Yes, Chief Raven." Togo said and repeated Nava's gesture before running off to where the shaman goose lived.

It was an hour before noon when Togo reached the Boris' giant oak tree and looked among the branches. Then he howled to get the goose's attention. An orange beak poked itself out of some leaves and the goose stuck his head out while saying, "Ah, Togo. What brings you to my tree?"

"Chief Raven sent me to bring you to Wolf's Peak." Togo quickly told him. Then he hung his head in sadness. Boris instantly understood what this meant and said, "His time has come, hasn't it?"

Togo could only nod to answer. Boris retreated into the tree for a moment and jumped out with a staff in a feathery hand. He landed next to Togo and asked, "If you wouldn't mind that I ride on your back. As you know, I don't fly."

"Of course, Shaman Goose." Togo said with a respectful bow of his head. Boris chuckled before saying, "Please, Togo, you don't need to be so formal with me."

Boris quickly lifted off the ground and set down on the grey husky's back. Then keeping a quick but steady pace.

They arrived at Wolf's Peak sometime after noon. When Togo stopped at the stone steps of the rock formation, Boris hopped off of his back and began to walk up the rock formation. Both dog and goose reached top of the stone steps they saw that a good number of the pack waited outside the cave entrance. Togo stood still while Boris quickly moved towards the cave. Togo soon noticed Aniu moving towards him and he asks, "What has happened?"

"Chief Raven's illness has gotten worse very quickly." Aniu said with grief in her voice. This surprised Togo as he questioned, "So quickly, but I-"

"He doesn't have much time." Aniu said as her head hung in sadness. Togo moved closer and pressed his head against hers to comfort her. She pressed back, hoping that he would always be with her. A voice called, "Togo."

Togo and Aniu looked up and saw both Nava and Boris standing outside the cave entrance. Slowly following was Chief Raven, breathing heavily with each step. Both sides of the pack could only watch in depression to see their chief in such a way. Most of the canines moved back to make room for the three. Togo moved to stand in front of the chief and bowed his head in respect. Chief Raven then said, "Togo, when you were born, my father told me that he could sense something special about you. And after I had became chief when he stepped down, I saw what he did."

He looked to the pack and said, "Ever since the passing of my beloved Goldenfur, I have never found true love again." But then he turned to Togo and said, "But I found a spirit like mine in an heir that I believe is worthy." Then raising his voice for all to hear he said, "So tonight, I make Togo chief of the Territories Pack. I only ask that you will give him the same respect that you have given me and the chiefs before me.'

Turning to Togo, Chief Raven stepped forward and began, "Togo, do you swear to rule over the pack and the lands of the Territories with honor and respect."

"I swear." Togo said with conviction in his voice. Chief Raven, though proud, kept a stoic face as he asked, "Do you swear to respect and govern over the animals of the Territories with love, compassion and grace in every action that you make."

"I sear." Togo promised. Then with a bow of his head, Chief Raven said, "Then I hereby name you chief of the Territories and the pack who governs it." Turning to the others of the pack, Chief Raven said, "Hail, to Chief Togo."

"Hail, to Chief Togo!" The pack repeated. Then they chanted, "Hail! Hail!"

The former chief of the Territories smiled for his successor before he began to make his way back into the den. Chief Togo, Nava, Aniu and Boris watched as the black furred wolf slowly made his way. When Raven stumbled, Chief Togo moved next to him and helped him back onto his feet. Raven smiled at his kindness as he said, "I see that you're putting your teachings to use."

"I learned from the best." Chief Togo admitted with his own smile. From behind, Nava, Aniu and Boris followed in after them. As the pack watched, their was one at the back who didn't feel happy nor sad on this day.

When the sun had set, Togo and the other three came out of the cave with a sorrowful expression and said, "Raven has passed."

The news caused heads to hang in sorrow. Then making sound strong he said, "But we will not let this tragedy bring us down. We will remain strong through the teachings of Chief Raven."

The pack listened closer as he said, "I know I'm not anyone's first choice as a leader, but I will try to serve you as Chief Raven did."

"And we will follow your lead." Nava said while walking in front of him. Aniu moved to his side and pressed her head against his neck before saying, "And we will help you when you need guidance."

Togo smiled at this before addressing the pack, "Tomorrow, we will bury Chief Raven amongst the other great chiefs. But tonight, I will appoint two advisors that will also act as my second in commands and my successors should the need arise. And then I will choose my mate for life."

Most of the pack listened closely as he began to choose his two advisors. He looked to his left and said, "My two advisors will be those whom I have come think of as brothers; so, I choose Nava and Steele. I have known them both longer than anyone else." Then he looked to Aniu as he said, "Well, almost everyone."

Aniu and others of the pack lightly laughed at this. Togo then moved toward the white wolf and asked, "Aniu, will you be my mate for life?"

"Heh," Aniu gave a small laugh before saying, "yes, I will."

All of the pack howled in delight to this while Boris came over and gestured for Togo to take a step forward. The ascending chief moved towards the goose as the shaman said, "To truly take up the mantle of chief, you must let all of the Territories know by going to tip of ledge," He pointed with his staff, "and howl with harmony and spirit."

Togo understood and moved towards the ledge of Wolf's Peak. When he reached the end he looked up to the sky. Then taking a deep breath, Togo then let loose a long and grand howl to the winds. The other dogs and wolves let loose their own howls.

When their howls ended, Togo moved back down and moved to where Aniu and Boris waited. Then sitting down, both the dog and the wolf pressed against each other as Boris raised his staff and said, "Through this union, we bring together both Chief Togo and the White Wolf Aniu. If there is any who do not believe that this union should happen, speak now, or forever hold your peace."

"I do actually." A voice spoke up at the back of the crowd. Everyone gasped as the black and white malamute Steele stepped through the crowd and snarled, "I object to this union."

"Why, Steele?" Togo questioned. Steele then argued, "Because, it doesn't seem right for a dog to love a wolf. Not when there are so many choices of she-dogs that would be more suitable for you."

"Steele," Togo countered, "Aniu is the one I truly love. We understand each other and we are happy with each other."

"Well…" Aniu began to say as if she were rethinking. This shocked Togo for a moment before she said, "Just kidding."

This caused most of the pack and Boris to laugh while Togo breathed a relieved sigh before chuckling himself. Then the chief became serious and said to Steele, "If you don't want to be here or be happy for us, then you don't have to stay."

"Fine. Do what you want." was all that Steele said before walking back through the crowd and walked down the stairs. Boris then had his wings on his hips and said, "Anyone else have anything to say?" When no one spoke up, the shaman goose smiled as he continued, "With the ancient spirits looking down upon us, I know pronounce you mates for life."

Once again, all the dogs and wolves howled or barked in happiness to the union.

Eight seasons later

Togo and Aniu walked along the rocky trail that went around Wolf's Peak. The two were very happy as Togo said, "I know that we keep talking about it, but this will be so exciting. We're going to be parents in a few days.'

"And it's admirable that you keep thinking about it." Aniu said with a small smile. They stopped to look over the lands of the Territories and admired the beauty of it. Their moment was interrupted when Nava came running up to them. He stopped a few feet from them and panted as he said, "Chief Togo… trouble… at the… river!"

"Take a deep breath, Nava." Chief Togo said as he placed a comforting paw on the older wolf's shoulder. When Nava had calmed himself he said, "Paddy has just reported that a medium sized pack of the wolverine clan are attacking at the grizzly's side of the river. Their trying to attack the cubs."

"Then we will send aid at once." Chief Togo assured. Then he ordered, "Gather as many of the pack as you can."

Nava nodded once before running off. Togo turned to Aniu and said, "Get with the others unable to fight and wait for our return."

"Okay, but stay safe, my love." Aniu said with a lick to his cheek. He reassured her with a lick to her forehead before saying, "You know me."

Then breaking away from her, he ran down the trail and met up with Nava and others in the pack. Chief Togo looked around and then asked, "Where is Steele?"

"No one is sure." Nava told him. Togo knew that they could not search for Steele right now, but a feeling of dread for his friend came over him, "Well have to look for him later, but for now we must tend to the matter at hand."

He then ordered, "Move out."

The pack began to run away from Wolf's Peak. But before Nava could join them, Chief Togo said, "Nava, if you could wait a moment."

"Yes, Chief Togo." Nava said when he turned to his chief. Togo had a bad feeling washing over him and said, "If something should happen this day, you are named chief."

"If anything like that should happen, then I will only be chief long enough before passing it on to your child." Nava promised. Chief Togo smiled and said, "Thank you, my friend."

With that said, both canines ran after the rest of the pack.

Later that day

The sun was moving to the western horizon as the pack returned to Wolf's Peak in with wounds on their bodies and heavy hearts. The other wolves who had been staying safe came out to meet them. They stopped short when they saw what had become of the patrol. Aniu moved to the front and looked around for her love. She noticed that both wolf and dog had their head hung in sadness from something. Her heart stopped when she watched them part and Nava and Steele walked through with something on the latter's back. Tears started to well up in her eyes when she saw that it was a bloody and an unconscious Togo. She quickly moved to them and asked, "What happened out there?"

"The wolverine clan were ready for us." Nava panted as Steele gently set Togo down. Aniu laid down next to her wounded beloved as Nava continued, "We were separated during the battle, and Togo was lucky that Steele came along when he did. Otherwise it could have been worse."

Chief Togo opened his eyes, but could barely keep them open. Struggling, the wounded chief sat up and said, "Aniu, I must tell you and the pack something very important."

"Yes, my Togo." Aniu said as she sat up as well and placed a paw on his. Togo was about to say something when pain from his wounds caused him to cringe. Nava helped him to lay back down while saying, "You must save your strength, Chief Togo. You must stay strong."

As he laid against a log, Togo said, "My strength is fading. I can feel my time coming."

This caused the pack to gasp in fear as Aniu pleaded, "No, Togo. Please do not say that."

"I'm sorry, Aniu." Togo told her. But then he said, "But before my time is up, I will pass the mantle of chief."

The pack looked to Togo with worry as he said that. But Togo was determined to leave the pack and the Territories in good paws. He looked to Nava and Steele and said, "I choose Nava to take my place as chief."

Everyone gasped and looked to Nava as the older wolf looked down to Togo and said, "I will do all that can to live up to your legacy."

"Make your own legacy." Togo told him before he closed his eyes. Aniu waited to see if he would open them again, but when he didn't she started to cry and pressed her head against his neck.

Nava closed his eyes as he mourned for his good friend. Steele moved to the wolf and asked, "What do we do know, Chief?"

"I will take up the mantle of chief." Nava said as he stood strong. But then he said, "But I have made a promise."

Aniu removed her head from her love and she and the pack looked to Nava as he said, "I will lead this pack like predecessors, until the child of Togo and Aniu has come of age. When the pup is born, I will act as a father for him." He looked down to Aniu and said, "I will tell him stories of his true father and guide him down the right path."

"Thank you, Nava." Aniu said. Then she said, "And I want the child to know you as a father." Nava looked surprised as Aniu asked, "I know it is sudden and a little awkward to ask this of you, but will you be my new mate for life?"

This made Nava think for a moment, but then he thought about the pack. He could see potential good in it. So with a nod, he said, "Yes, Aniu. I will become your new mate."

Aniu smiled as she placed her head against his. The wolves and dogs all howled in approval to Nava's ascension as chief. Steele, on the other hand, had a grim frown on his face as he looked at the new couple.

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Author's Note: And this is just to set things in motion for the upcoming story. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	3. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Balto or the story of The Lion King, only the story. The characters of Balto belongs to Universal and the story and songs of The Lion King belongs to Disney. They only thing that I do own is the OC's of the story. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

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 **Chapter One: The Presentation of Prince Balto**

It was a dark, yet warm spring morning through the forests of Alaska as light animal sounds rang through the Territories. Then in the distance, a loud and harmonious wolf howl could be heard for miles. Darkness still covered the land until spirits sang and the sun rose in the east…

 **Male Singer Spirit:** _Nants ingonyama_

 _Bagithi baba_

 _Sithi uhhmm ingonyama_

 _Ingonyama_

A lone moose and a herd of deer rose their heads from grazing when it heard the howl from a far. A small group of raccoons stood on their hindlegs to the sound. A lone lynx climbed to the top of a hill.

 **Male Singer Spirit:** _Nants ingonyama_

 _Bagithi baba_

 _Sithi uhhmm ingonyama_

 _Ingonyama_

A trio of storks heard the call from the lake. Two looked at one another before the third took flight. A flock of eagles flew along a giant waterfall towards the call. A group of polar bears walk past a mountain as they made their way to answer the call. A giant flock of ravens flew over the Territories.

 **Male Singer Spirit:** _Siyo nqoba_

 _Ingonyama_

 _Ingonyama inengw' enamabala_

 _Ingonyama inengw' enamabala_

 _Ingonyama inengw' enamabala_

 _Ingonyama inengw' enamabala_

 _Ingonyama inengw' enamabala_

 _Se-to-kwa_

A herd of reindeer leapt through a foggy plain towards the source of the howl.

 **Male Spirit Singer:** _Ingonyama inengw' enamabala_

 _Asana_

 _Ingonyama inengw' enamabala_

 _Se-to-kwa_

 _Ingonyama inengw' enamabala_

As the sun started to rise over the land, a mother grizzly bear and her cub emerged from their cave. When the cub stepped out into the sun light, the light momentarily blinded the little bear…

 **Female Spirit Singer:** _From the day we arrive_

 _On the planet_

 _And, blinking, step into the sun_

After blinking away the brightness, the bear cub and his mother looked to their left and saw the converging animals. Both mother and son broke into a sprint to catch up to the other animals…

 **Female Spirit Singer:** _There's more to see_

 _Than can ever be seen_

 _More to do_

 _Than can ever be done_

Ants climbed up a tree branch while a herd of deer ran underneath it. A flock of pheasants ran ahead of a herd of caribou. A straggler was lucky not to be stepped on as it weaved through the legs of leader of the herd. It squawked when the foot came close.

 **Female Spirit Singer:** _There's far too much_

 _To take in here_

 _More to find_

 _Than can ever be found_

Another herd of deer ran through the cool waters of a river as they made their way to the other side. A few birds and rodents hitched a ride on the back of some moose as they waded through the water.

 **Female Spirit Singer:** _But the sun rolling high_

 _Through the sapphire sky_

 _Keeps great and small_

 _On the endless round_

Over the herds, packs, flocks and other groups of animals, a lone yellow duck flew over their heads. This yellow duck was named Paddy, and he acted as the majordomo to the Chief of the Territories. Paddy flew above the herds towards a rock formation, called Wolf's Peak, where the animals were gathering. Standing on a jutting ledge held up by another rock stood the Chief of the Territories, the grey and white wolf Nava. He watched as the animals continued to gather. When Paddy landed in front of him, the duck bowed in respect before looking up to his chief with a smile. Nava's face remained stoic for a moment before it too turned into a smile and nodded.

 **Female Spirit Singer:** _It's the Circle of Life_

 _And it moves us all_

 _Through despair and hope_

 _Through faith and love_

The gathered animals soon parted to allow Boris the shaman goose to walk amongst them. As the goose waddled past with staff in hand, the animals close to him bowed in respect which he nodded back. Nava watched his approaching friend with a smile. He moved down the ledge to meet Boris at the stone steps of Wolf's Peak.

 **Female Spirit Singer:** _Till we find our place_

 _On the path unwinding_

 _In the circle_

 _The Circle of Life_

When the goose had hopped up the last step, he was greeted by the grey and white wolf. Boris threw his wings wide before wrapping them around Nava. Nava wrapped a foreleg around his friend. Then both of them looked to the pack of dogs and wolves. They looked to Aniu the white wolf as she lay on the ground with her paws wrapped around something. Nava moved toward his wife and pressed his head against hers, which she returned full heartedly. Then she leaned her head down and licked the head of her only son, Balto.

The grey wolfdog pup in her paws turned to look up at the three looking down upon him. Boris looked down at the prince with a smile on his face. Then taking his staff with his other hand, the shaman goose waved it over little Balto's head. In a playful fashion, the pup tried to swipe at the fruits and berries tied to staff.

Then pulling a tied red berry off of the staff, Boris squished it between to feathers. Then by using a single feather, the shaman goose gently traced the red juice over the pup's brow. Boris next took a wingful of sand and sprinkled it over Balto's head as to christen him. Some of the sand had gotten into the pup's nose and caused him to adorably sneeze. This caused the smiling Nava and Aniu to press their heads together.

Boris then gently picked Prince Balto out of his mother's embrace and carefully held him with both wings. The shaman goose smiled to Nava and Aniu which they returned as Boris waddled away with the pup in his wings. The two wolves slowly followed Boris as the animals of the Territories awaited to see the prince. When he reached the end of the ledge, Boris held Prince Balto high into the air for all the animals to see. This caused all of the animals to caw, roar, and call out in joy at the sight of the prince.

 **Female Spirit Singer:** _It's the Circle of Life_

 _And it moves us all_

 _Through despair and hope_

 _Through faith and love_

Young Balto looked about him though he didn't understand any of it yet. High above the Territories, spirits separated the clouds over Wolf's Peak. It allowed the sun to shine down on the young wolfdog. All the animals then bowed to the new prince as a sign of respect.

 **Female Spirit Singer:** _Till we find our place_

 _On the path unwinding_

 _It's the Circle_

 _The Circle of Life_

Chief Nava and Aniu watched from behind Boris with pride for young Balto.

 **THE**

 **WOLFDOG CHIEF**

A few hours later in another part of Wolf's Peak, a little field mouse came scurrying out of a hole. It stopped for a moment to wipe off its little face when it suddenly stopped as it sensed danger. It sniffed the air twice before running off. The mouse didn't get far as a white paw slammed down on it. The white paw gripped the mouse by the tail between two of its toes as it lifted the small rodent up the owner of the paw. The grim face of the black and white malamute named Steele looked down at the mouse and taunted, "Life sure isn't fair, is it?" Then he ranted, "You see, I… Well, I was kind of cheated out of being chief. Twice in fact, actually."

He looked at the mouse before letting it crawl over his paw. It tried to jump, but he caught it again and smugly said, "And you, my little rodent, aren't gonna see another day." Then chuckling at that fact and holding the mouse above his head he said, "So long."

But just as he opened his jaws wide to eat the mouse, a voice questioned from the side, "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?"

Steele looked behind him to see Paddy standing next to him with his wings on his hips. Steele sighed as he placed the mouse under both paws. Then with a sharp inhale he questioned, "What do you want, Bird Brain?"

"I'm here to announce that Chief Nava is on his way," Paddy smiled as he bowed. Then his smile faded as he said in irritation, "So you'd better have a good excuse for missing the ceremony this morning."

The mouse took the distraction as an opportunity to wriggle itself out of Steele's grasp. Steele watched as it escaped and climbed a small rise before fleeing back into its hole. Steele then disappointedly said, "Aw, now look what you did, Paddy. You made me lose my lunch."

"Hah!" Paddy laughed before crossing his arms as he said, "You'll lose more than that when the chief gets through with you. He's as mad a grizzly who had his fish stolen."

"Ooh, I quiver with FEAR!" Steele said and crouched down while looking at the yellow duck with hunger in his eyes. Paddy was instantly frightened of how Steele was looking at him and tried to ease the malamute down, "Now, Steele don't look at me that way." When the dog started to stalk towards the duck, Paddy started to run away the other way squawking, "Help!"

Steele bounded after the duck and then jumped in front of the duck. The malamute then used his tail to trip Paddy. The yellow duck grunted as he fell down. Steele then grabbed Paddy's neck into his teeth. But before Steele could do anything, a voice shouted, "Steele?"

"Mm-hmm?" Steele said as he looked behind him. He saw Chief Nava standing on a rise outside of the cave. Nava glared at the malamute and ordered, "Please drop him."

"Impeccable timing, sir." Paddy commended. Steele then lightly tossed the yellow duck to the ground. Paddy sat up and noticed how much saliva was covering his throat and said, "Eww!"

"Why, if it isn't the Chief of the Territories and my adopted big brother descending from on high to mingle with us smaller folk." Steele said when Nava jumped down from the ledge and entered the cave. As the malamute walked away, Nava said in disapproval, "Aniu and I didn't see you at the presentation of Balto."

"That was today? Oh, I feel just simply awful!" Steele said in fake disappointment as he leaned up against a rock wall. Then he slid his claws down it, making a loud scrapping noise that made Paddy cringe. Then he shook his paw as he casually said, "Just must've slipped my mind."

"Yes, well," Paddy chuckled before becoming serious as he flew up into Steele's face, "as slippery as your mind is, as a friend to both the current chief and the previous chief, you should have been first in line."

When the yellow duck had come to close for his liking, Steele clicked his teeth which made Paddy back flap away. Paddy hid behind Nava as Steele argued for himself, "Well, I was first in line, until the little mutt was born."

"That 'mutt', is my step son." Nava said as he looked Steele in the eye with a glare, "and will become your future chief."

"Oh, then I'll practice my curtsy!" Steele said in fake admiration before turning away. Nava then warned, "Do not turn your back on me, Steele."

"Oh, no, Nava." Steele said as he looked back to the chief and shot back, "Perhaps you shouldn't turn your back on me."

This angered Nava and he growled as he ran in front of Steele. Then he growled, "Is that a challenge?!"

"Temper, temper." Steele said to calm his chief. Then he tried to appease Nava by saying, "I wouldn't dream of challenging you."

"Pity. Why not?" Paddy questioned. Steele leaned down a little to look Paddy and said, "Well, as far as brains go, I got a lot of the dog's share." He raised his head and said, "But as far as primal brute strength," His face softened as he sadly said, "I'm afraid that I'm on the more shallow end of the universal gene pool."

Then he walked off into the plains of the Territories. Both Nava and Paddy watched him go until the latter said, "There's one in every family, sir." Then he thought before saying, "Two in mine, actually." Then he jumped onto Nava's back as he said, "And they always manage to ruin special occasions."

"What am I going to do with him?" Nava asked. Paddy then smirked, "He'd make a very handsome throw rug."

"Paddy!" Nava lightly scolded. But the yellow duck didn't stop there while taking flight, "And just think, whenever he gets dirty, you can take him out and beat him."

This caused Nava to chuckle at this as they made their way back.

Several hours later, it started to rain hard all over the Territories. Everywhere was getting drenched from the rainstorm. Luckily for the shaman goose Boris, he was nice and dry in his tree. The shaman goose was putting the finishing touches on a finger painting. He applied a little more grey to the painting of Prince Balto. As he was about to add one more stroke he said, "Balto."


	4. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Balto or the story of The Lion King, only the story. The characters of Balto belongs to Universal and the story and songs of The Lion King belongs to Disney. They only thing that I do own is the OC's of the story. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

x

 **Chapter Two: The tour of Territories and the lesson on the Circle of Life**

A few years later, it was nearly dawn in the Territories. The sun had yet to rise over Wolf's Peak as a grey pup ran to its ledge and looked about the land. Young Balto was excited about to today, for it was the day he and his step-father Nava would go through the Territories as he learned what it meant to be chief. Quickly running back down the ledge, Balto made his way back into the cave. When he entered he quietly shouted, "Dad! Dad!" He stood at the edge of the sleeping pack as he called out, "Come on, dad, we gotta go! Wake up!"

He jumped over a dog and knocked their paw over and resulted in a, "Uhh!"

When he jumped over another, he landed a little short and landed on another's belly. Balto felt a little guilty and offered a quick, "Sorry."

He made it to the ledge where his mother and step-father were sleeping and slid to a stop. Then moving closer he said to the snoring wolf, "Dad!" But became annoyed and said, "Dad!"

"Your step-son is awake." A sleepy Aniu said without opening her eyes. Both of them were becoming annoyed by the endless calls for 'Dad'. Nava then said, "But before sunrise, he is YOUR son."

"Dad!" Balto shouted again. He was starting to get impatient as he said, "Come on, Dad."

Then gently taking Nava's ear into his teeth and tugged on it. Growling while giving it three good tugs, he lost his grip and cried out as he went rolling backwards. His tumbling sent him crashing into a pile of bones. Deciding to take a more direct approach, he ran towards Nava's head and butted his own against it. This did the trick as Nava sleepily opened an eye as Balto said with a frown, "You promised."

Seeing that Balto was getting really impatient, Nava eased the pup's tensions by saying, "Okay, okay. I'm up, I'm up."

This changed Balto's mood as he ran off shouting in excitement. Nava let loose a loud yawn that woke Aniu up as well. Balto ran out of the cave with Nava and Aniu not too far behind. The wolfdog pup stopped on a rock to the side and waited as his parents walked by. Then moving past his father, Balto went up to his mother and pressed his body against her legs in a loving fashion before she lightly nudged his rump forward. Balto walked along side Nava as they came around a bend on Wolf's Peak. Aniu watched them both go with a loving smile.

Soon, the sun rose as Nava and Balto sat at the peak of the mountain. Looking about the land, Nava told his step-son, "Look, Balto. Everything the light touches is the land that we protect and govern."

"Wow." Was all Balto could say as he looked about. Nava then taught him, "A chief's time as ruler is almost like the travels of the sun. Like the sun it will rise and fall. Just like when the sun sets on my time, just as it did your father's and those before him, the sun will set on my time here," He gave a smile to the pup as he said, "and will rise with you as the new chief."

"And this will be all mine to watch over?" Balto asked in amazement. Nava nodded and said, "Everything."

Balto stood up and looked about as he said, "Everything the light touches." Then he saw something next to the ocean that was dark, sat back down and then turned his head to ask, "What about that shadowy place by sea?"

"That's beyond our borders." Nava informed as he came up next to the pup. Then he warned his step-son, "You must never go there, young Balto."

"But I thought a chief could do whatever he wanted." Balto said. A smile formed on Nava's face as he turned before saying, "Oh, there's more to being a chief than getting your way all the time."

"There's more?" Balto asked with a smile. The older chuckled and said, "Balto…"

It was later that morning as the two were now walking about the Territories. The deer leaped about nearby as Nava then told Balto, "Everything you see here, it exists together in a delicate balance." They climbed up a hill as Nava said, "As a chief, you will need to understand that balance and respect every and all creatures," Then he gave an example, "from the crawling ant to the leaping deer."

"But Dad, don't we eat the deer?" Balto asked as he was confused. With a smile Nava understood this and explained as they came to the top of the hill, "Yes, Balto, but allow me to explain. When one dies, the bodies will become the grass, and then the deer will eat the grass." Then he looked out from the hill to the herd of deer as he said, "And so we are all connected in the great circle of life."

"Good morning, sir!" Paddy the yellow duck shouted as he flew down to them. Balto sat down as the duck touched down on the rock as Nava responded, "Good morning, Paddy."

"Checking in with the morning report." Paddy said with a bow. Nava then nodded and said, "You may proceed."

"Well!" The buzz from the bees," Paddy said as he placed a wing by his bill, "is that the leopards are in a bit of a spot."

"Oh, really?" Nava asks as a cricket springs past Balto. A smirk formed on the pup's as he leapt at the cricket, but it moved when he landed. As Paddy rambled on and on, Nava looked to see Balto preparing to pounce again. Keeping his voice low he asked when Balto leapt, "What are you doing, young one?"

When Balto landed on the rock, he looked disappointed when he discovered that he didn't catch the cricket as he said, "Pouncing."

Nava came over and had a smirk as he said, "Allow me to show you how it's done."

"I told the elephants to forget it," Paddy continued. But he shrugged his shoulders as he pointed out, "but they can't…"

"Paddy, could you please turn around?" Nava asked with an arched brow. Paddy didn't hesitate as he said, "Yes, sire." Then turning around he kept going, "The cheetahs are hard up, but…"

Balto quickly got in position and awaited instructions.

"Stay low to the ground." Nava said as he pushed Balto's rump down. The chief looked to the majordomo as Paddy said, "Cheetahs never prosper…"

"Yeah, okay." Balto whispered, "Stay low to the ground, right? Yeah."

Paddy looked back to see that the two canines had something planned. Feeling scared he asked, "What's going on?"

"A pouncing lesson." Nava bluntly said to him. Thinking that it wasn't bad, Paddy complimented, "Oh, that's very good. Pouncing." But then he realized who was the target and lost a few feathers when he turned and shouted, "Pouncing? Oh no, sir, you can't be serious…"

But Nava was serious as he used his paw to tell the duck to turn back around. Paddy sighed as he turned, "This is so humiliating."

"Try not to make a sound." Nava whispered to the pup. Paddy glanced back and questioned, "What are you telling him, Nava?"

But when he looked back he found that both canines had disappeared and called out, "Nava." He shrunk and meekly said, "Balto?"

Then suddenly he was tackled from behind by the young prince. It seemed funny to Nava as he started to laugh very hard from it. Hearing his step-father's approval, Balto turned and walked back to Nava with his head held high. Nava then complimented, "That was very good technique."

The chief continued chuckling from it as Paddy was forced into sitting by an emerging groundhog. The mole shouted, "Paddy!"

"Yes!" The duck answered. But his demeanor changed when the groundhog saluted and said, "News from the underground."

"Now, this time…" Nava leaned down and placed a paw around the pup to instruct something new to Balto. But didn't get the chance when Paddy's head shot up behind the rock and gripped the rock as he frantically shouted, "Chief Nava! Wolverines in the Territories!"

Nava became serious as he bounded away from Balto and rushed past Paddy. But before he went any further, he looked back and ordered, "Paddy, take Balto home."

"Aw, Dad." Balto complained as he rushed over to them. Then he asked, "Can't I come?"

"No, son." Nava firmly said with a shake of his head. Nava then took off to take care of the problem. When he was gone, Balto became upset and turned, "Pah! I never get to go anywhere."

"Oh, young master," Paddy smirked as he said, "one day, you will be chief." Balto looked back as the duck took flight and he said, "Then you can chase those slobbering, mangy, stupid poachers from dawn to dusk."

The two then made their way back to Wolf's Peak.

Much later in another section of the mountain, Steele was walking by a ledge. Still more than likely sore about the events in his life. Noticing a bone lying by his paw, he kicked it over the edge. Steele then continued walking as Balto came running up and shouted, "Hey, Uncle Steele! Guess what?"

This caused Steele to stop in his tracks. He looked down to the pup with a slight glare as he growled through gritted teeth, "I despise guessing games."

"Nava was just showing me what it takes to be chief." Balto said with a little pride, but made sure to not to sound arrogant. Steele looked away and rolled his eyes as he said, "Oh, how joyous for you."

Balto, knowing that Steele didn't like him for some reason, moved over to the ledge and said, "He just showed me all of the Territories, and told me that it'll be my job one day to watch over it all."

"Interesting." Steele sarcastically said. But then he warned, "But don't go and expect me to leap for joy or anything. I'm not about that."

Then he flopped down on his side. Balto came over and sat next to Steele and said, "Hey, Uncle Steele. When I'm named chief, what will that make you?"

"A goose's uncle." Steele flatly said. This made Balto chuckle before saying, "You can be really weird."

Steele looked to the pup and said with a slight smile, "You really have no idea."

The black and malamute then stood up and walked off as he asked, "So, step-daddy Nava showed you the entire territory, eh?"

"Everything." Balto said as he got up to follow Steele. Then the older dog asked, "He didn't show you what was close to the sea?"

"Well, no." Balto dejectedly said as he sat down. Then he told his uncle, "He said I couldn't go there."

"And he's absolutely right. Far too dangerous." Steele agreed. Then he looked out as he made it sound like one must be worthy, "Only the bravest of canines would go there."

"Well, I'm brave." Balto said, wanting to prove it. Then he asked, "What's out there?"

"Aw, sorry there, sport, but I just can't tell ya." Steele said as he looked up. Balto moved a little before asking, "How come?"

"Balto, Balto." Steele said with a face smile. Then he made it sound sincere by saying, "I'm only looking out for the well-being of my favorite nephew." Then wrapping a paw around his nephew's shoulders and pulled him in for a slight noogie. Balto pulled away with a scoff and said, "Yeah, right! I'm your only nephew. And we're not even really related."

"All the more reason to be more protective. Plus you're Togo's boy, and he was like family to me, so that makes you family as well." Steele said as he withdrew his paw. Then he said, "But a boat graveyard is no place for a young prince." Then he realized that he said it and covered his mouth and said, "Oops!"

"A boat what?" Balto asked in excitement. Then he looked out and said, "Whoa."

"Oh, dear," Steele said in distraught and placed a paw against his head, "I've said way too much. Well, then again," But then he calmed down as he said as if Balto would've found out eventually, "I suppose you would have been able to figure it out either sooner or later," He looked down to the pup and said, "You being so clever and all."

Then wrapping his paw around the pup again he said, "Just do me one favor." He pressed his face up against the pups and said, "Promise me you'll never visit that horrible place."

Balto took a moment to think about it before saying, "No problem." Then the pup asked, "Did my dad ever go out there?"

"Once, and I still think that it was the bravest thing he ever did." Steele said with a nod. Then looking down to the prince he asked, "Do you still promise?"

Balto nodded in agreement with a big smile.

"There's a good pup." Steele said before nudging Balto away. Then he told the wolfdog pup, "Now you go and have some fun." Balto then started to run off, but stopped when Steele called after him, "And remember," Balto looked back as Steele said, "it's our little secret."

Balto nodded before running off. Steele turned away before smiling sinisterly as his plan was set into motion.


	5. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Balto or the story of The Lion King, only the story. The characters of Balto belongs to Universal and the story and songs of The Lion King belongs to Disney. They only thing that I do own is the OC's of the story. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

x

 **Chapter Three: I Just Can't Wait to Be Chief**

Balto quickly hurried along the mountain of Wolf's Peak as he searched for his best friend. As he came down a sloping pathway he passed by other members of the pack. One of the dogs of the pack noticed him running down the path as he soon caught sight of who he was looking for. His best friend, a red and white furred husky named Jenna, was with their mothers, Aniu and Eve, under a small oak tree. His mother was sleeping in the shade of the tree while Jenna was getting a bath from her mother. Jenna was really the only friend that Balto ever had. Balto walked right up to them and greeted, "Hi, Jenna."

"Oh, hello, Balto." Jenna greeted back as her mother's tongue stroked her cheek. Balto looked to his sleeping mother before placing a paw next to his muzzle and whispered, "Come on. I just heard about this great place."

"Balto!" Jenna groaned with a whisper as her head was washed, "I'm kind of in the middle of a bath."

This annoyed Balto for a moment, but it turned to fear as he heard his mother say, "And it's time for yours."

Balto looked back as he tried to run off. But before he could get away, Aniu leaned forward and gently grabbed her son by his head with her teeth. She then backed up onto the rock and placed Balto in her paws. Then she licked the side of his face, causing him to shout, "Mother!"

He tried to jump out of her grasp, but she quickly caught him before licking his back. Then he ranted, "Mother," as he was licked in the face, "you're messing up the fur on my head!"

Aniu stopped bathing him and looked down at him with a smile. Before she could continue, Balto jumped out of her grasp and lightly ran his claws along the top of his head while he said in annoyance, "Okay, okay, I'm clean. Can we go now?"

"So, where are we going?" Jenna asked as she was getting licked in the side by her mother. Then she added, "I hope that it's nothing boring."

"No," Balto assured her as he came closer, "it's really cool."

"So, where is this really cool place?" Aniu asked, making Balto cringe. He took a moment to think and he didn't like lying to either of his parents. But he really wanted to prove himself brave. He turned to her while saying, "Oh." Then he thought of something, "Only around the water hole."

"The water hole?" Jenna questioned to her friend. Balto's face fell as Jenna asked, "What's so special around the water hole?"

Smiling to his mother, he turned to his friend and said through gritted teeth, "I'll show you when we get _there_."

Jenna immediately knew what he was talking about and said, "Oh." Then turning back to her mother and asked, "Uh, mother, could I please go with Balto?"

"Hmm," Eve began to think. Then she looked to the white wolf and asked, "what do you think, Aniu?"

"Well…" Aniu started. Both pups came up to her and asked with big toothy smiles, "Please."

"It's all right with me." Aniu said with a smile. This caused both Balto and Jenna to start jumping up and down in excitement as they ran and shouted, "Yeah! All right!"

But before they could get far, Aniu wasn't finished as she said, "As long as Paddy goes with you."

This caused both pups to stop in their tracks in shock. Balto looked to Jenna and complained, "Aw, not Paddy."

"Step lively." Paddy said as he flew overhead. The three were nearly there to the watering hole. Paddy then said from the air, "The sooner we get ourselves to the watering hole the sooner we can leave."

Wanting to know more about their actual destination, Jenna quietly asked Balto, "So, where are we actually going?"

"A graveyard of boats." Balto whispered back. This caused Jenna to be excited as she shouted, "Wow!"

But Balto quickly shushed her and gestured with his head, "Paddy."

"Right." Jenna said as she knew that Paddy wouldn't really let them go. Then she asked, "So, how are we gonna be able to go?"

The two pups then began to quietly formulate a plan between the two of them. Paddy looked back to the two and a smile formed on his face. As he turned to land the yellow duck said, "Oh, just look at the two of you. Little seeds of romance blossoming on the plains."

Neither Balto nor Jenna knew what Paddy was talking about as they gave each other skeptical looks. They looked to him as he said, "Your parents will be thrilled." Then he added, "What with you two being betrothed and all."

"Be-what?" Balto asked as and Jenna didn't understand what Paddy was saying. Paddy then said synonyms of the word, "Betrothed. Intended. Affianced." The pups looked to each other as they were still confused. Jenna then asked, "Meaning?"

"One day, you two are going to be married." A happy Paddy said with his wings on his hips. This caused Balto and Jenna to adopt looks of disgust as they shouted, "Yuck! Eww!" Balto then lowered his head and argued, "I can't marry her. She's my friend."

Paddy crossed his wings as Jenna lowered her head on the other side and agreed, "It would be very weird."

"Well, sorry to bust your bubble," Paddy bluntly said, "but you two turtle doves don't have much of a choice." Balto then silently mimicked what Paddy was saying, "It's something that your parents thought that would be good for the pack."

"Well, when I'm chief," Balto said. He assured Jenna with a wink, "that'll be the first thing to go."

"Not so long as I'm around." Paddy argued as a certain beat began to fill the air. Balto then came closer and said, "Well, in that case, you're fired."

"Hmm." Paddy chuckled before pointing out with a tap of a feather to the prince's snout, "A nice attempt, but I'm afraid that only the chief can do something like that."

"Well, he is the future chief." Jenna pointed out as well as she came between them. A smirk formed on Balto's face and he stepped closer to say, "So basically, that means you have to do what I tell you." Both formed smiles on their faces before Balto thumped his paw against Paddy's chest. The duck then argued, "Not yet, I don't."

Their smirks fell as he said, "And with an attitude like that." Balto waved the duck off he two pups started to walk away annoyed while he said, "I'm afraid that you're starting to shape up into a pretty pathetic chief, indeed."

"Hmph." Balto said as he looked back with a smirk, "Not the way I see it."

Then tensing up his body, Balto leapt and landed before Paddy. The land changed colors and the prince broke out into song…

 **Balto:** _I'm gonna be a mighty chief_

 _So enemies beware_

He got up in Paddy's face and caused him to walk backwards until he fell behind a log. Having been stuck in a knothole, Paddy pulled himself out with a pop before singing…

 **Paddy:** _Well, I've never seen a chief of beasts_

 _With quite so little hair_

Paddy then plucked a strand of fur from Balto's head. But Balto shook it off and jumped on the log and shoved his head through some leaves, scaring a few birds…

 **Balto:** _I'm gonna be the main event_

 _Like a good chief that knows how to prowl_

He shook the leaves off of his neck and climbed up to where Paddy sat. Then sitting up regally he sang…

 _I'm brushin' up on lookin' down_

 _I'm workin' on my howl_

The pup threw his head back as he tried to howl. But instead it knocked Paddy off the log and into a puddle of mud. He climbed out and wiped himself off while singing…

 **Paddy:** _Thus far, a rather uninspiring thing_

The yellow duck then blew his nose into what he thought a leaf. But he looked up to see that he had blown his nose into the paw of a grizzly bear. The bear swatted him away in annoyance and sent the duck screaming as he skidded across a pond as Balto shouted…

 **Balto:** _Oh, I just can't wait to be chief_

A flock of king fisher birds took flight as the two birds took flight. They met Paddy at a small creak as the duck said, "You have a good long way to go, young master," They sat down as Paddy pointed to the prince with a wing and said, "if you think…"

One of the pups started to mock as the other sang…

 **Balto:** _No one sayin', "Do this"_

Jenna started wagging her tongue as Paddy argued, "Now, when I said that…" He looked back as Jenna sang…

 **Jenna:** _No one saying, "Be there"_

Balto had stuck made a goofy smile by looking cross-eyed and pulling his lips with his claws while wagging his tongue. Paddy then tried to say, "What I meant was…" He looked back as they switched…

 **Balto:** _No one sayin', "Stop that"_

Jenna was smooshing her face with her paws and made fish-lips as Paddy said, "You don't realize" Then he between them to see them both making faces as they sang…

 **Balto and Jenna:** _No one sayin', "See here"_

"Now, see here!" Paddy shouted as the two ran off. He was then knocked over by two running deer. He sat up in the water and saw Balto on the back of a buck, and Jenna on the back of a doe. Balto looked back to the duck as he sang…

 **Balto:** _Free to run around all day_

Paddy scrambled to take flight before lifting off. Then he commented, "Well, that's definitely out."

Then flapping his wings he struggled to catch up. The two deer started a descent down the hill as the prince sang…

 **Balto:** _Free to do it all my way_

The spirits banged a drum and it seemed to change colors as Paddy flew after the pups on their rides. He served past trees as the scenery changed from on color to another. Paddy flew ahead of the deer carrying the cubs and flew to where he could sing and fly backwards…

 **Paddy:** _I think it's time that you and I_

 _Arranged a heart to heart_

But since he wasn't watching where he was going, he slammed into the backside of another grizzly bear. The two deer came closer and Balto leaned over the buck's head as he sang…

 **Balto:** _Chiefs don't need advice_

 _From little ducklings for a start_

Paddy slid off the bear and plopped down onto the ground. Then rising to the air he sang as he landed on a branch…

 **Paddy:** _If this is where the monarchy is headed_

 _Count me out_

 _Out of service, out of Alaska_

 _I wouldn't hang about_

He didn't notice that the branch was attached to a log as if floated down stream. He screamed as it went over a waterfall, but came back up, flapping his wings as he held an annoyed expression as he sang…

 **Paddy:** _This child is wildly out of wing_

A herd of reindeer suddenly made way for Balto and Jenna into two separate rows as they came through…

 **Balto:** _Oh, I just can't wait to be chief_

When Paddy tried to got through the lines of the reindeer, they immediately turned and held their tails high. Paddy quickly covered himself with his wings in fear of what they may do. Balto and Jenna then started to run with a herd of elk. They were able to jump out of the way when the elk stepped. Paddy wasn't too far behind as he flew over the herd. Then diving down, he was careful as he flew amongst the herd. As he passed by the front, Balto was now sitting on the head of the lead elk and ordered through song…

 **Balto:** _Everybody, look left_

Paddy gasped before he was trampled by an assortment of animals as they danced by. Then Balto ordered…

 _Everybody, look right_

Paddy was once again trampled by the dancing animals as they moved the other way. Balto then felt like a star as he sang…

 _Everywhere you look, I'm_

He jumped up a few stones that were arranged as steps. Then sliding down a small slope while holding his back paws with his fore and slid to a stop and struck a pose with his paw held high…

 _Standing in a spotlight_

"Not yet!" Paddy shouted after pushing an elk and deer's rears out of the way. Then they crushed him by pressing up again. Balto then started whispering in the ear of one animal, then that animal whispered it to another and so forth as a chorus sang…

 **Chorus:** _Let every creature go for broke and have no grief_

 _Let's hear it in the herd and on the wing_

Paddy was trying to dust himself off when suddenly a pair of beaver's grabbed the yellow duck by the neck and yanked him away. They tossed Paddy from one beaver to the next while a crowd of deer held Balto and Jenna in their antlers. Moving simultaneously, the bucks were able to fling the pups in the air.

 **Chorus:** _It's gonna be Chief Balto's finest fling_

The two pups were flung past a captive Paddy as he was being picked for bugs and such by the beavers. They only shrugged their shoulders to the duck as they didn't understand why either. The animals then started to form a pyramid, with elk swinging their antlers, some deer stood on a base while some mountain goats stood on their backs and shook their heads up and down. And at the top of the pyramid a sheep stood with both Balto and Jenna sitting on its wooly back, and all the while singing…

 **Balto, Jenna and Chorus:** _Oh, I just can't wait to be chief_

 _Oh, I just can't wait to be chief_

 _Oh, I just can't wait_

The pyramid then started to crumble as it started to sway. The sheep fell onto some of the backs of the goats. The goats tumbled as they fell and their horns poked into the sides of the deer. The elks brayed as they soon took off.

 _To be king_

And at the bottom of the pyramid, stood Paddy as he weakly held up a black bear. But soon the weight was too much and the duck was flattened under the bear. The spirits ceased their song as the last of the animals ran off. The bear sat in place as a crushed Paddy said with a muffled voice, "I beg your pardon, madam, but GET OFF!"

Then he called out, "Balto? Jenna!"

x

 **Author's Note:** I know that I'm doing this story over again, but I really wanted to. And I'm surprised that no one has commented on the names for the OC's I used in the prologue. But maybe someone will and I hope that that's someday soon. So, I will be look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	6. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Balto or the story of The Lion King, only the story. The characters of Balto belongs to Universal and the story and songs of The Lion King belongs to Disney. They only thing that I do own is the OC's of the story. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

x

 **Chapter Four: Terror in the Boat Graveyard**

Both pups laughed as they ran from the flattened Paddy. They rounded a huge rock structure and came to a stop next to a tree. While stopping to catch their breath, Balto excitedly said, "All right! It worked!"

"We lost him." Jenna said with a smile on her face. She was about to go on when Balto then arrogantly said, "I am a genius."

"Hey, genius, it was my idea." The red and white husky said to him as the wolfdog sat down. But still wanting to take the credit, Balto placed a paw on his chest as he said, "Yeah, but I pulled it off."

"With me!" Jenna said with a defiant smirk. Balto tensed up and questioned, "Oh, yeah?"

Then with a playful growl he lunged at her and tackled her onto her back. But once she touched the ground she pressed her back paws against her belly and kicked up. The two pups flipped into the air with Jenna coming out on top. Balto gritted his teeth when his back hit the ground. He started to rise up a little, but Jenna used her forepaws to push him back down with a loud thump. Balto looked up to his friend in shock as she playfully said, "Pinned Ya."

"Hey, let me up!" Balto exclaimed as he pushed her off of him. Jenna backed up as she held a triumphant smirk and turned to the left with her eyes closed. Balto noticed that she may have let her guard down and decided to act quickly. Quick on his feet, Balto then made another lunge for the she-dog and tackled into her side. The action sent both pups rolling before falling over the edge of a drop.

Both pups started laughing as they went over the side and Balto lost his grip on Jenna. The two separated with Jenna landing on her feet and Balto rolling head over paws. As they rolled further down, Balto and Jenna smiled as she rolled onto her side and he was able to grab hold of her midroll. The two kept tumbling down the hill. When they neared the end, Balto kept a firm grip on her as he threw them off the hill and down to the bottom. But when they landed and Jenna's back touched the ground she once again planted her back paws against his belly and kicked up for the second time that day. Jenna had a smile while the two pups flipped up into the air with Jenna coming out on top again. As they landed, Balto came up a little before Jenna pushed him back down with another thump. The she-pup smirked and smugly said, "Pinned ya, again!"

This caused Balto to looked annoyed with her. But before he could retort, the sound of crashing waves drew their attention. Jenna let Balto get back up onto his feet as they looked about of where they were. They noticed that there was little no plant life, not to mention that that the soil was becoming more and more sandy. Plus, there was something wooden beyond a sand dune. His surprise turned into a smile as he and Jenna moved closer. As they climbed up the sand dune, the pups saw a boat that was turned on its side. Balto then excitedly said, "This is it. We made it."

"I don't think we should go any further, Balto." Jenna said, getting a bad feeling about all of this. Balto looked to her with a smirk and said, "Come on, I heard that everyone's been here at least once. And don't worry, I'm right here for you."

Though hesitant, Jenna still followed him in. They climbed up the plank of wood onto the deck of the boat. Coming up to the bow of the boat, they stood on their back legs to see over it. They looked to each other as they said, "Whoa!"

What they saw were many boats, abandoned and turned over, not to mention all the animal skeletons that were littered between the old vessels. Though thinking that the place was really interesting, Jenna still thought as she said, "It's really creepy."

"Yeah." Balto agreed. Then he asked her, "Isn't it great?"

"We could get in big trouble." Jenna pointed out with a smirk. Balto chuckled as he said, "I know!"

The two pups hopped down from the bow and turned towards the cabin. Jenna then said, "I wonder if there are any human things still in there."

"Only one way to find out." Balto said with a smirk. Then gesturing with his head he said, "Come on, let's go in and check it out."

The wolfdog pup moved forward to go inside, but a yellow blur moved in his way and shouted in a British accent, "Wrong!" Then landing on the ground, Paddy began pushing the young prince back while saying, "They only checking out you will do will be to check out of this place."

"Aw, man!" Balto groaned. Paddy sounded really scared when he said, "We're way beyond the boundaries of the Territories."

"Ease up, Paddy. It's going to be okay." Balto tried to assure him. But it didn't work as the yellow duck grabbed him by the ear flap and said, "You listen here, fuzzy, we are in serious danger."

"Are we really?" Jenna asked. Balto started moving around Paddy as the duck said, "Greatly. We need to leave now."

"Danger?" Balto scoffed. Jenna stood next to Paddy and said, "Balto, maybe we should get out of here while we can."

"Relax, we already walk on wild side." Balto said as he stopped before the cabin door. Then he said, "We should be able to laugh at danger from time to time. Ha, ha, ha!"

But laughter came from within the cabin, startling all three. Balto quickly ran back to the other two. He stood by both of them as they looked to doorway. Three figures began to slowly emerge from the shadows. Three red furred wolverines, two males and one female, cackled evilly as they stepped into the light. Paddy moved in front of the two scared pups as the female looked to her friends and asked, "Well, well, Sunrise what do have ourselves here?"

"Hmm. I don't know Dusk." The wolverine behind her said with a shake of his head. Then he looked back to the third wolverine and asked, "Uh, what do you think, Ed?"

The third wolverine, who had his eyes looking every which way, only cackled his answer. Ed continued to laugh as Sunrise said, "Yeah, just what I was thinking." He became upset as he shouted, "A trio of trespassers!"

"And quite by accident, I assure you." Paddy said in their defense while the two pups started to walk away, "A simple wrong turn at the oak tree." Then turning away himself he tried to walk away but was stopped when Dusk stepped on his tail feathers and said, "Whoa, whoa, wait."

Taking a closer look she said, "I know you." A smile formed on her face as she leaned down and got close to his face, "You're Nava's little stooge."

"I, madam, am the chief's majordomo." Paddy said in irritation as he removed his tail, making her annoyed as well. The other two wolverines had moved around them and were circling the two pups. Sunrise then questioned to Balto, "And that would make you…"

"The future chief." Balto defiantly said as Paddy joined the two. Dusk joined the circling as she questioned, "Do you know what we do to chiefs who step out of their kingdom?" Then she jabbed, "Although I'm surprised that a wolfdog like yourself is even becoming chief."

"There's nothing wrong with me being a wolfdog, and you can't do anything to me." Balto said with a glare. Paddy chuckled before saying, "Actually, they can. We are on their land."

Balto looked to Paddy and recited, "But, Paddy, you told me that these guys are nothing but slobbering, mangy, stupid poachers."

While he was saying that, Paddy was motioning for him to stop, but when it didn't work he said in pig Latin, "You should ix-nay on the upid-stay."

"Who are you calling upid-stay?!" Sunrise angrily questioned while getting in the duck's face. Paddy then tried to push them away while saying, "My, my, my, look at the sun. It's time to go."

"What's the hurry?" Dusk asked as she ran in front of them. Stepping closer she sounded ominous as she said, "We'd love for you to stick around for dinner."

"Yeah, and I hope you don't mind us wolfing down on our food." Sunrise joked. This caused all three wolverines to start laughing. Dusk then waved a paw and said, "Wait, wait, wait, I got one, I got one!" Then she said, "When we're through, we'll be lying like a dogs." She glanced over to Dusk and asked, "What'd ya think?"

They both continue to laugh at the jokes. Suddenly, Ed jumps in between them and whimpers while pointing in a certain direction. "What, Ed? What is it?"

Sunrise looked in the direction that their fellow wolverine was pointing and then asked, "Hey, did we order this dinner to go?"

"No. Why?" Dusk asked in confusion. She looked as Sunrise shouts, "Cause there it goes!"

She saw that Balto, Jenna and Paddy were all making their escape. The three ran between the old boats and animal bones. As they ran past a small dinghy, Paddy gasped when he was tackled from the side by one of the wolverines.

Balto and Jenna continued running until they hid under the cover of an overturned boat. They used their hideout to take a breath before sticking their heads out to see if they were followed. Jenna then asked, "Do you think we lost them?"

"I think so." Balto said as he looked about. But then he noticed that one of their own was missing and asked, "Where's Paddy?"

Paddy screamed as he was being held in a full nelson by Sunrise as the wolverines held him close to one of the ovens. The wolverine holding him then joked, "The little major-dumb old bird then made his way into the birdie boiler."

"Oh, no!" Paddy screamed. He tried to fight his way out, but was grabbed by Dusk and Ed before stuffed into the boiling water, "Not the birdie boiler!"

Then he screamed as he was launched high into the air. All three wolverines started laughing hysterically as they thought it was funny. They stopped when someone shouted, "Hey!"

They looked up to see Balto and Jenna standing on a sandy hill as the former angrily questioned, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

"Like you?" Dusk questioned with an evil grin. Balto then realized his mistake and said, "Oops."

Jenna screamed as the wolverines rushed at them. Both pups turned tail and ran off as Dusk tried to bite them. They ran until they had to stop as a turned over stove blasted steam. The three wolverines stuck their heads through and shouted, "Boo!"

And a snap of their teeth sent the pups running again as they ran another way. Both pups ran up a tall boat and climbed up a bow and jumped before Sunrise could take a bite out of them. As they slid down the metal, the ride was bumpy and made them make funny sounds. But the end of it was curved up into the air and it sent them flying and Balto screamed as they landed on a large pile of bones.

Balto and Jenna quickly picked themselves up and started running up the large pile of bones. As Balto reached the top, he heard Jenna shout, "Balto."

Looking back down, the wolfdog pup gasped when he saw Jenna was screaming as she slid back down the pile. Balto quickly ran back down the pile of bones, knocking a few out of the way as he rushed to protect his friend. Dusk was close to taking a bite out of Jenna, but Balto arrived just in time to deliver a scratch to the cheek. The blow left three claw marks in the wolverine's cheek as she looked up to the pups and growled in anger.

Balto and Jenna continued running from the wolverines and found themselves within a large boat that leaned on its side. They quickly ran up a large man made shelf and tried to jump for a ledge. Their attempts failed and caused the wood underneath to brake. The pups fell to the floor and slowly picked themselves back up. Balto gasped when he saw the three wolverines entering the boat.

The wolverines growled as they came closer to the trapped pups. Sunrise then taunted, "Come here, half-breed."

Standing in front of Jenna, Balto took a deep breath before throwing his head back and letting out a howl. It wasn't long or harmonious, and it didn't strike fear into the wolverines. All it did was make them laugh. Dusk mocked, "That was it? Do it again, tell me."

Balto took another deep breath, but before he could let it out another long and harmonious howl filled the boat. This caused the three wolverines to become confused, "Huh?"

The next thing they knew a grey paw swatted the three wolverines to the side. Nava growled as he attacked the three wolverines. The chief of the Territories attacked Sunrise, but growled in pain when Dusk bit out a little of his fur. Nava turned and swatted her away. Dusk rammed into him and tried to wrap his forepaws around the wolf, but Nava was able to dislodge him by falling on his side. Nava stood back up and Earl tried to come up from behind, but the chief horse kicked him in the mouth. Paddy flew up to the pups as Balto and Jenna watched from the side as Nava continued to fight the wolverines. The fight ended when Nava had knocked all three onto their backs and stood over them while growling in anger. The wolverines looked absolutely terrified as they begged for mercy, "Oh, please, please! Uncle, uncle!

"Silence! Now!" Nava commanded making them flinch. Sunrise then said, "Okay, we're gonna shut up right now!"

"Please, calm down." Dusk pleaded. Nava glared at them and warned, "If you ever come near my step-son again…"

"Oh, this is…" Dusk said in shock, "This is your son?"

"Oh, your son." Sunrise said in equal astonishment. Dusk looked to him and asked, "Did you know that?"

"No. Me? I didn't know…" Sunrise shook his head. Then he turned the question around, "Did you?"

"No, of course not." She said. Then they both look to their friend and asked, "Ed?"

The wolverine stupidly shook his head while his tongue stuck out. This caused Nava to growl at them again and he barked. Sunrise waved a paw and said, "See ya."

Then all three wolverines took off running out of the boat with their tails between their legs. Once they were gone, Paddy flapped to his chief's side and nodded with a smile. But Nava looked to the duck with a grim glare. Paddy shrunk from the chief's gaze. Balto and Jenna bounded over and the former tried to say, "Dad, I…"

"You deliberately disobeyed me." Nava turned and said to the pup with disappointment in his eyes. Balto struggled to find the right words and tried to say, "Dad, I'm… I'm sorry."

"Let us go home." Nava firmly said and walked off. Paddy flew between them as the pups started to follow while their heads hung in shame. Jenna looked to him and said, "I thought you were very brave."

Balto didn't say anything as they continued to walk out of the boat. Unbeknownst to them, Steele was watching from the ledge that the pups tried to use to escape. And as he watched them go, he was clearly disappointed by the outcome. Then standing up, the black and white malamute walked away from the opening.


	7. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Balto or the story of The Lion King, only the story. The characters of Balto belongs to Universal and the story and songs of The Lion King belongs to Disney. They only thing that I do own is the OC's of the story. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

x

 **Chapter Five: The Chiefs of the Past**

The sun had set by the time Chief Nava, Paddy, Balto and Jenna had made it back into the Territories. Nava walked at a brisk pace ahead of them while Paddy stayed within the air. Balto and Jenna walked side by side as they hung their heads in shame. Jenna looked to her friend and could see the shame and guilt within his eyes.

Paddy had also looked back and was startled when Chief Nava called out, "Paddy."

The duck flew faster and landed before his chief and nervously asked, "Yes, sir?"

"Please take Jenna back home." Nava ordered with a gesture of his head. He looked back over to the pups and said, "I need to teach my step-son a lesson."

Jenna looked to see Balto lowering himself into the grass. Paddy flew back to the pups as Nava sat down and kept a stoic face as he said, "Come, Jenna."

Turning to Balto, he placed his wings on the pup's shoulders and sighed as he said, "Balto, good luck."

With that said, Paddy took to the air again as Jenna walked behind the duck. The red and white husky looked back once more to her friend as they disappeared into the night. Balto watched them go until his step-father shouted, "Balto!"

Balto walked over with his head once again hanging his head. But when his foot stepped into something, he noticed that he had stepped into Nava's footprint. It was then Balto realized that he would have some big paws to fill. He raised his head and continued walking until he was by Nava's side. Sitting down, Balto looked up to his elder and waited for the older wolf to say something. Nava closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then looking down he said, "Balto, I am truly disappointed in you."

"I know." Balto said as he hung his head. Nava then said, "You could have been killed. You deliberately disobeyed me. That is not the acts of a future chief." Then he pointed out, "And to make matters worse, you had put Jenna in danger."

Balto was starting to cry as he looked up to say, "I was just trying to be brave like you."

"I'm only brave when I need to be." Nava told him. Nava then said, "And being brave doesn't mean that you should go looking for trouble."

"But you're not scared of anything." Balto said with a shake of his head. Nava looked away as he said, "I was today."

"You were?" Balto asked in surprise. Nava said as he lowered his head to the pup, "Yes, I thought I might lose you and fail a promise that I made to your father." Nava then explained, "Balto, your father had entrusted you to me should something happen to him. And over the time I have watched over you with your mother, I have grown to love you as if you were truly one of my own."

"Oh," Balto said in realization, "so I guess that even chiefs can get scared sometimes huh?"

"Mm-hmm." Nava nodded. Balto leaned a little closer and said with a whisper, "But you know what?"

"What?" Nava whispered. Balto had a smile as he said, "I think those wolverines were even more scared."

Nava laughed as he said, "That they were." Then he reached over as he jokingly said, "And no one ought to mess with your step-father. Come here, you." He wrapped a paw around the pup's shoulders and pulled him closer and rubbed his other paw against his head. Balto started struggling against the older wolf's grip and shouted, "Oh, no! No!"

Balto was able to pull himself out of Nava's grasp and then tackled into the older wolf. The chief rolled over and Balto tumbled off before Nava took off running away. The pup laughed as he ran after his step-father. He caught up to Nava and jumped to take his elder's ear into his mouth and tugged while Nava laughed. Balto then released Nava and sat down laughing himself.

Balto moved closer pressing up against him and asked, "We're still friends, right."

"Yes, young pup." Nava nodded. Then Balto asked, "And we'll always be together, right."

Nava laid down and took a moment to think before saying, "Balto, let me tell you something that Chief Raven once told me and your father." Balto hopped onto his back and placed his paws on his step-father's head as Nava said, "Look to the stars. It is said that the great chiefs of the past look down upon us from those stars when they're gone."

"Really?" Balto asked in wonder. Nava nodded and said, "Yes." Then he added his own piece, " So whenever you feel alone, just remember that those chiefs will be there to guide you. And so will I."

"Wow." Was all Balto said as they looked up to the sky. Both canines continued to look up to the stars in wonder as they sat in the field. Soon, Balto stepped off of Nava's back and the two headed back to Wolf's Peak.


	8. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Balto or the story of The Lion King, only the story. The characters of Balto belongs to Universal and the story and songs of The Lion King belongs to Disney. They only thing that I do own is the OC's of the story. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

x

 **Chapter Six: Be Prepared**

Night had also passed as well for the boat graveyard. The only light that was visible was from the moon and the green steam from the ovens. The glow from the ovens cast a sickly green glow along the wood. And hiding deep within a large boat the three wolverines took refuge from their beating from Nava. While Dusk stood guard from a broken cabinet, Sunrise and Ed sat on the sand, or in Sunrise's case, sitting on one butt cheek as his left cheek had claw marks.

"Man, that lousy Nava." Sunrise complained as he looked at his sorry behind, "I won't be able to sit for a week."

This caused Ed to laugh at his misfortune. This made Sunrise angry as he looked to his fellow wolverine and said with a glare, "It's not funny, Ed."

The mental wolverine placed his paws over his mouth to keep himself from laughing, but it came out much stronger as he became hysterical. Sunrise's glare increased as he shouted, "Hey, shut up!"

But Ed continued to laugh, and it only made Sunrise much angrier. He let out an angry snarl before tackling Ed. The two rolled across the ground as they bit, clawed and kicked at each other. Ed grabbed Sunrise's arm and body slammed him against the ground. Sunrise avoided a bite from his fellow wolverine and the mental wolverine's jaws hit the ground. Sunrise tackled into Ed again but it was turned around when Ed pushed him onto is back. They continued to fight against each other as Dusk looked to them and sighed before shouting, "Will the two of you knock it off?"

Sunrise was able to untangle himself from his brawl and left Ed biting his leg. Pointing a claw at him, Sunrise then blamed, "Well, he started it."

"Just look at you guys." Dusk complained as she came down to their level, "No wonder we're dangling at the bottom of the food chain."

"Man, I hate dangling." Sunrise complained while a little drool hung from his muzzle.

"Yeah?" Dusk said getting in his face, "If it weren't for all them canines, we'd be the ones running this joint."

"Man, I hate those canines!" Sunrise growled. Dusk agreed as she said with a scowl in his face, "So pushy."

"And hairy." He added with a grin. Dusk walked around him and added, "And stinky."

"And, man, are they…" Both wolverines said while they had their backs pressed against each other, 'Ugly!"

This caused all three wolverines to crack up with laughter. It went on until a deep voice said from above, "Oh, surely we canines are not all that bad."

They looked up to see Steele laying on his stomach on a high cabinet as steam billowed around him. They all breathed a sigh of relief as Sunrise said, "Oh, Steele. It's just you."

"We were afraid that it was somebody important." Dusk commented. Sunrise nodded in agreement and said, "Yeah, you know, like Nava."

"Yeah." Dusk agreed. Steele didn't look happy as looked down at them with an arched brow and said, "I see."

"Now that's power!" Sunrise said. Dusk's face dropped into a scowl as she said, "Tell me about it. I just hear that name and I shudder."

Sunrise felt a little mischievous and tried it, "Nava."

Saying the wolf's name did in fact send a shudder down Dusk's spine, but instead of being angry, she looked to him and waved her paw while saying, "Do it again."

"Nava!" Sunrise blurted out. Dusk shuddered once again, "Oh!"

But Sunrise kept going, "Nava! Nava! Nava!"

It caused all three wolverines to laugh again. As she laughed Dusk said, "Ooh, it tingles me."

The only one of them who wasn't laughing was the malamute sitting above them. He rubbed his temple and said, "I'm surrounded by morons."

"Now, you, Steele," Sunrise said to turn it around, "I mean, you're one of us. You're our pal."

"Gee, thanks." The malamute said. Dusk had a smile as she said, "Oh, I like that. He ain't chief, but he's still oh so proper."

"Yeah." Dusk said in agreement. But then he looked to the dog and asked, "Hey, did you bring us something to eat, Steely, old buddy, old pal? Did ya, did ya, did ya?"

Steele gave the wolverine a slight scowl before rolling his eyes as he said, "I don't think the three of you really deserve this." He reached over to his side and pulled out a deer leg and dangled it with his paw. This made the three wolverines sit up and drool in hunger while he complained, "I mean, I practically gift-wrapped those two pups, and you couldn't even take out the wolfdog."

But Steele still dropped the leg and let it fall. The wolverines had big grins when the leg hit the ground. They quickly tore into the meat. As they ate, Dusk lifted her head from the meal and pointed out with her mouth full, "Well, you know, it wasn't exactly like they were alone, Steele."

"Yeah. What were we supposed to do?" Sunrise agreed as he too had his mouth full. He swallowed and then asked, "Kill Nava?"

They kept eating as Steele placed a paw under his chin before he leaned forward and said with a devious grin, "Exactly."

This caused all three wolverines to look up to him with questioning looks. All the while, dark spirits began to play their melody. Standing up, Steele then leapt off the cabinet and bounced off the boat wall before falling towards them. The wolverines scrambled out of the way as Steele landed. Stepping with the beat of the steam as it shot up from the ovens, Steele then started to sing…

 **Steele:** _I know that your powers of retention_

 _Are as wet as grizzly's backside_

The malamute walked over to Ed who was chewing on the deer bone. He looked annoyed as the wolverine payed more attention to the bone.

 _But thick as you are, PAY ATTENTION!_

He swatted it away and Ed stood at attention with a serious face. Steele then walked around the wolverine.

 _My words are a matter of pride_

Steele stood behind Ed and waved a paw in front of the wolverine's face.

 **Steele:** _It's clear from your vacant expressions_

 _The lights are not all on upstairs_

Ed tried to keep a straight face, but it turned goofy again as he winked and stuck his tongue out. Steele's face then lit up as he thought about the future.

 _But we're talking chiefs and successions_

Dusk and Sunrise were watching from behind on a ledge and started laughing amongst themselves. Steele surprised them by jumping at them and scaring them to where they fell backwards.

 _Even you can't be caught unawares_

Both wolverines had fallen into two of the ovens. Them being stuck caused the pressure to build up until it launched them high into the air with a grunt. Steele leapt from that ledge to a spot that rounded a large pile of broken wood.

 **Steele:** _So start preparing for the chance of a lifetime_

 _Be prepared for sensational news_

The malamute disappeared around the wood and started tiptoeing past a plank of wood.

 _A shiny new ear is tiptoeing nearer_

Dusk came out from around the pile and asked in song…

 **Dusk:** _And where do we feature?_

Steele came back and grabbed her cheek and reassured her.

 **Steele:** _Just listen to teacher_

He released her and walked off. Dusk watched her go before rubbing her cheek while glaring at the dog.

 _I know it sounds sordid_

 _But you'll be rewarded_

 _When at last I am given my dues_

Steele jumped up a few cabinets to where Ed sat and was chewing on the bone again. Then jumping behind the wolverine he reared his foot back.

 _And injustice deliciously squared_

He kicked the wolverine off and Ed yelled as he flew through the air. Ed landed in the midst of a large bone pile. Steele threw his head back and shouted…

 **Steele:** _Be prepared_

All three wolverines popped their heads out of the pile with a different animal skull on their heads. Sunrise had a deer skull, Dusk had a moose on hers and Ed had a caribou on him. Sunrise then sounded happy as he said, "Yeah, be prepared. We'll be prepared." Then he became confused and looked up to the malamute and asked, "For what?"

"For the death of the chief." Steele dramatically declared. This didn't clear anything up as Sunrise climbed up the wood to him and asked, "Why? Is he sick?"

Steele grabbed the wolverine by the throat and held him close as he said, "No, stupid, we're gonna kill him." A devious smile formed on his face as he dropped him, "And that little wolfdog Balto too."

Sunrise landed on the ground between Dusk and Ed as the former said with a wide grin, "Great idea! Who needs a chief?"

Dusk and Ed started to dance around Sunrise as he and Dusk sang…

 **Dusk and Sunrise:** _No chief, no chief, la-la la-la la, la_

"You idiots!" Steele growled down at them before correcting, "There is going to be a chief!"

"Hey, but you said…" Sunrise said in confusion. Steele cut him off by declaring, "I'm gonna be chief." Then he promised them, "You stick with me," He threw his head back and dramatically said, "and you guys won't be going hungry again!"

The lighting in the boat changed to a more sickly yellow color. But Steele's promise caused excitement as Sunrise shouted, "Yeah! All right!"

Dusk then cheered, "Long live the chief!"

Her words became a chant as more and more wolverines were brought into the light, "Long live the chief! Long live the chief!"

Yellow steam billowed as evil cackling filled the air as the wolverines joined the song…

 **Wolverine Chorus:** _It's great that we'll soon be connected_

 _To a chief who'll be all time adored_

Steele watched as they walked by in goose step formation. He then told them what needed to be done.

 **Steele:** _Of course, quid pro quo_

 _you're expected_

 _To take certain duties on board_

He emphasized by making s slashing motion with a claw across his throat. Then he told them what lay in wait for them.

 **Steele:** _The future is littered with prizes_

 _And though I'm the main addressee_

 _The point that I must emphasize is_

Steele leapt off the balcony and landed in front of wolverine. The lighting turned red as he got in the wolverine's face, a fissure opened underneath it and he looked scary while shouting…

 **Steele:** _You won't get a sniff without me!_

The wolverine fell into the crevice with a scream while the others watched. Steele led his army of wolverines through the boat and onto the deck as he and the wolverines sang…

 **Steele and Wolverine Chorus:** _So prepare for the coup of the century_

 _Be prepared for the murkiest scam_

 _Ooh, la-la-la_

Steele led them up to the cabin of the ship and they thought of how they could accomplish their goals…

 **Steele and Wolverine Chorus:** _Meticulous planning_

 _(We'll have food!)_

 _Tenacity spanning_

 _(Lots of food!)_

 _Decades of denial_

 _(Lots of meat!)_

 _Is simply why I'll_

 _Be chief undisputed_

 _Respected, saluted_

The wolverines gathered around Steele as he climbed unto the top of the cabin. They grinned as he placed a paw on his chest and made himself sound high and mighty…

 **Steele:** _And seen for the wonder I am_

Two of the wolverines had a skeleton in their teeth and shook them around while they had hunger on their minds. Steele had a maniacal, toothy smile as he sang…

 **Steele and Wolverine Chorus:** _Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared_

 _Be Prepared_

The wolverines danced in joy at this and one shook his head wildly. One played the ribcage of a bear like a xylophone. Dusk, Sunrise and Ed stuck their heads through a wall of steam as they, Steele and the other wolverines sang…

 **Steele and Wolverine Chorus:** _Yes, our teeth and ambitions are bared_

 _Be Prepared_

Steele sat on top of the boats cabins as the wolverines looked to him for guidance. All of them broke into laughter as they would soon put their evil plan into motion.

x

 **Author's Note:** And another chapter is done. I can't wait to write the next one. See ya later guys.


	9. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Balto or the story of The Lion King, only the story. The characters of Balto belongs to Universal and the story and songs of The Lion King belongs to Disney. They only thing that I do own is the OC's of the story. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

x

 **Chapter Seven: The Death of the Chief**

It was a little past noon the next day, Balto walked around Wolf's Peak as he thought about yesterday's events. The little pup rounded a corner and was met face to face with three bigger dogs. Their names were Nikki, Kaltag and Star and each were a different dog breed. They normally hung around Steele when he felt like company, but today he wasn't with them. And one of the things they liked to do when the chief wasn't around was pick on Balto for being a half breed. Balto tried to turn tail and run, but Kaltag ran in front of him and said, "Say, where ya going, kiddo?"

"Nowhere in particular." Balto said as he backed up a bit. The other two were about to get in on it when a deep voice said from behind, "What do you three think you're doin'?!"

Nikki, Kaltag and Star cringed as they look up to see Steele standing up on the rock above them. He glared down at them and said, "Shouldn't the three of you be out on patrol or somethin'?"

"Y-Yes, Steele!" All three of them stammered before running off. Steele hopped off the rock and looked down at Balto. He put on a smile and asked, "How you doing, kid?"

"Just fine, I guess." Balto said with his ears flat. Steele then said with a shrug, "Don't pay any attention to those three. They just have their heads in a snowdrift." Then gesturing with his head he said, "Come on, I got something to show ya."

"I don't know." Balto said and sat down. Then he said, "Nava got pretty upset with me yesterday."

"Don't worry. Nava told me to bring you." Steele lied. Balto's ears perked up and he said, "Really?"

"Yeah. But you gotta follow me, before it gets too late." Steele said. Balto walked up beside him and the two set out.

x

It was late in the afternoon when Balto and Steele reached the bottom of the gorge. The two walked along the gorge floor as they came to a tree with a large rock underneath it.

"Now you gotta wait right here." Steele told the pup as the came under the tree. Then he revealed, "Nava has a really big surprise for you."

"Ooh, what is it?" Balto asked as he became excited. Steele smirked and said, "If I was to tell you, it wouldn't be a surprise now, eh?"

Balto hopped onto the rock and faced his uncle and said with a smile, "If you tell me, I'll still act surprised."

Steele shook his head with a chuckle and then said, "Hoo, hoo, you are such a naughty boy."

"Come on, Uncle Steele." Balto said as he came closer and placed his forepaws on the older dog's chest. But the malamute shook his head and said, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no." Then he said, "This is just for you and your step-daddy." Then he waved his paw around in a circle he tried to say, "You know, a sort of step-father-son kind of thing."

When he couldn't think of anything else to say, Steele gave a big smile and said, "Well, I had better go and bring him."

"I'll go with you." Balto excitedly said as he jumped off the rock and started to follow. But Steele quickly turned around and snapped, "No!"

This caused Balto to stop and sit, startled from his outburst. Taking a deep breath, Steele chuckled and said with a small frown, "No. You should just stay on this rock." He nudged Balto back to the rock and then added, "You don't want to end up in another mess like what happened with those wolverines."

"You know about that?" Balto asked, shocked that he knew. The black and white malamute nodded and said, "Balto, Balto, Balto. Everybody knows about that."

"Really?" Balto asks with his shoulders hunched and his ears fell against his head. Steele, enjoying how he made the pup feel guilty, nodded with a smirk and said, "Oh, yes. Lucky for you that step-daddy Nava was able to come to your rescue, huh?"

Then wrapping his paw around the pup, Steele leaned a little closer and said, "And just between the two of us, you might need to work on that little howl of yours."

With that said, Steele turned and started to walk away. Balto's guilty face then perked up as he called out, "Hey, Uncle Steele, will I like the surprise?"

The question made Steele to stop in his tracks a for a second. Then a smile formed on his face as he looked back and said, "Balto, it's something to _die_ for."

Steele then continued to walk out of the canyon. When he disappeared around a bend, Steele picked up the pace to put his plan in motion.

High above the canyon, a large herd of caribou grazed in the fields. Though unbeknownst to them, hiding under a small rock formation that was somewhat similar to Wolf's Peak were the three wolverines. They were currently waiting for the plan to get underway, but one's stomach couldn't seem to keep quiet.

"Shut up!" Dusk growled in irritation. But Sunrise whined about his belly, "I can't help it. I'm so hungry" He quickly stood up and said, "I gotta have a caribou!"

"Stay put." She warned with another grow. Sunrise sat back down and pleaded, "Couldn't I just take one of the little sick ones?"

"No!" Dusk snarled as she got in his face. She backed up as she reminded, "We're gonna wait for the signal from Steele."

The malamute appeared on a rocky ridge where they could see him. The wolverines noticed him, and Dusk said, "There he is." She looked to the other two and said with a comical evil frown and said, "Let's go."

The three of them headed out to do their part of the plan.

Back down in the canyon, Balto now laid down on the rock and pondered what his 'uncle' said. He mockingly said, "Little howl. Puh!"

A bird landed on a branch above him and he thought that he could us his howl to scare it away. Balto sat up and took in a deep breath. Then throwing his head back he let out a short and unharmonious howl. It didn't do anything as the bird just sat there unmoving. This annoyed Balto and he moved a little closer on the rock and tried it again. He took a deep breath and let out another howl. But it resulted the same way and the bird didn't move. Balto jumped off the rock and stood directly underneath the bird. Taking in a deeper breath, Balto threw his head back and let out a longer howl. This time it did the trick and sent the bird flying away in fear. Balto smiled with pride and listened as his howl echoed off the canyon walls.

But his smile faded when he heard another sound and looked down to see small rocks tumbling as the sound grew louder. Balto looked up to the top of the canyon wall and saw a huge dust cloud approaching while birds cawed in fear. The next moment, a herd of caribou started running down the slopes into the gorge. Balto looked with a horrified face as they came charging right at him. The pup turned tails and ran like there was no tomorrow.

The wolverines were chasing the caribou herd down into the canyon. Dusk nipped at leg of one of them to keep it going. As the rest of the herd ran down into the gorge, all three of them stopped to watch.

Balto ran as fast as his little legs could carry him while the caribou stampede started to gain on him.

Patrolling near the gorge, Chief Nava was climbing up a hill with Paddy flying above him. Paddy looked back as he hovered and informed, "Look, sir. The caribou herd is on the move."

Nava looked back and questioned, "That is very odd."

Both of them were caught off guard when an out of breath Steele came running up to them. He looked up to his chief and urgently said, "Chief Nava, come quick…" He looked to the gorge and warned, "Stampede… In the gorge…" He looked really worried when he said, "Balto's down there!"

"Balto?" Nava asked with worried eyes. Nava didn't waste any time and jumped down and ran past Steele. Paddy flapped after his chief while Steele brought up the rear. As they ran, Steele took the opportunity to smile at how well his plan was working.

Balto kept running from the advancing herd, and panted as he kept going. He looked back and gasped in fear as the caribou started to get closer. Looking ahead he saw a dead tree that stood higher than the herd's horns. Driven by fear, the pup scrambled to climb up the wood. He had a tough time as canines weren't really built for climbing, but he made it to the top and wrapped his paws around the farthest branch. The branch started swaying from his weight and the rumbling of the hooves of the herd as they ran by.

Nava, Steele and Paddy were close to the gorge when Paddy flew ahead of the two and dove down into the canyon. He flew over the caribou as he searched for any signs of the prince. He gasped when he saw the pup clinging to the tree and flew closer. Balto looked up to see him coming and shouted, "Paddy, help me!"

"Your step-father is on his way!" The yellow duck informed. Then he added, "Just hold on!"

"Hurry!" Balto shouted as Paddy flew off. Nava and Steele soon came sliding down into the gorge and stopped at ledge while they looked very worried. Paddy flew up to them and pointed with his wing as he shouted, "There! There! On that tree!"

Nava soon saw the pup and shouted, "Hold on, Balto!"

A caribou ran into the tree, causing it to crack and sway from the force. Balto's back legs fell of the tree. He held on tight as he shouted, "Dad!"

Nava carefully picked his way as he jumped down the rocks. When he reached a ledge that allowed him to run with the herd he took it. Paddy and Steele watched from the ledge as the yellow duck panicked, "Oh, Steele, this is awful!"

He flapped around trying to think of a way to help, "What do we do? What do we do?!" Then he had an idea, "I'll go back for help!" This caused Steele's eyes to grow wide as the duck started to fly away as he said, "That's what I'll do! I'll go back for he-"

Paddy never got the chance as Steele struck him from behind. The duck crashed into a rock wall and fell onto his back. His head rose for a split second and swayed before falling back down again. Steele snorted as he thought that was a close one. Knowing that nothing could ruin his plan now, the black and white malamute looked back to Balto and Nava's situation.

Nava continued to run with the herd towards the tree. The wolf ran past it and waited for a gap before sliding under a caribou. Once he was through he was able to turn back to the tree. Sprinting for it, Nava was close when a caribou struck him and he fell backwards. Shaking the cobwebs from his head, Nava looked up to the tree just as another caribou crashed through the trunk. The blow sent Balto screaming as he flew through the air. But just when he was about to hit the ground, Nava jumped up and caught the pup's midsection in his mouth. When he landed with his step-son secure, Nava once again began running with the herd. From the ledge, Steele kept watch of the two's progress. After a few good feet, a caribou knocked into Nava again and it sent Balto tumbling forward on the ground. Balto picked himself up and started moving out of the way of an incoming caribou. Suddenly, Nava came and grabbed the pup by the scruff and ran off just as a caribou came crashing down where they stood.

Nava was able to weave through the herd until he was able to bring Balto to a ledge. Rearing up on his back legs, Nava set Balto down on the ledge. But suddenly he was knocked away by another caribou. Balto, really scared, looked into the herd and cried out, "Dad!"

The pup watched for any signs of his step-father, and his eyes became frantic with worry as he looked from one spot of the stampeding herd to another. And just when it seemed like he wouldn't come out, Nava jumped out of the stampeding herd and landed on the canyon wall. He clung to it with his claws as he tried to hang on. Nava's fur was dirty and matted in a few place as he gritted his teeth. Balto looked relieved and smiled while watching his step-father start his climb up the canyon wall. When Nava slipped a little, Balto was a little worried, but continued to watch him climb. When Nava climbed out of sight, Balto turned and started climbing up the rocky path to join up with his step-father.

Nava continued to climb up the steep slope and it only became more steeper the higher he went. When it had become too steep, Nava found himself in trouble. He looked up to see Steele looking down on him with an expressionless face. Nava called out to him, "Steele!" He slipped a little but was still able to hang on and looked up and pleaded, "My pack brother, help me!"

Steele remained motionless as he watched Nava try to scramble back up. Rocks tumbled down into the stampede as Steele knew things were at the right moment. With a quick motion, Steele lunged forward and stuck his claws into Nava's paws. The chief yelped in pain from it before looking up to the black and white malamute. Steele's face went dark as he leaned forward and said, "Long live the chief."

Nava's face darkened with horror as he realized what Steele was doing. Steele pushed Nava off the ledge and back down into his demise. Nava yelled as he fell back first into the stampeding caribou.

"No!" Balto yelled from a high spot on the canyon wall as he watched his step-father vanish within the moving bodies. The stampede was starting to disappear as Balto made his way back into the gorge. The stampede had kicked up a lot of dust, and thus made it hard for him to see as Balto shouted, "Dad!"

But the only sound he heard was his echo. He moved along the canyon and shouted again, "Dad!"

When he passed by a big rock he heard a noise and turned to it. He hopefully called out, "Dad?"

But what ran out of the dust cloud was a lone caribou. The caribou ran past the prince as it raced to rejoin its herd. Balto noticed that as it ran past the tree where he tried to stay safe he noticed a shape lying under it. Balto came closer and saw that it was Nava lying on his side. He moved to the wolf's head and saw that his eyes were closed and what was scarier was that he wasn't breathing. Becoming scared, Balto came closer, placed his forepaws on Nava's head and shook, "Dad, come on." Nava didn't respond to him as he said, "You gotta get up."

Becoming very worried he did it again and said, "We got to go home."

His shaking didn't work and Balto took Nava's ear into his jaws and he pulled on it. But when he let go, Nava's head moved back into place. Becoming really scared and not knowing what to do, Balto ran a few feet from Nava's body and shouted, "Help!"

But the only thing to answer him was his echo as it bounced off the canyon walls. Balto began to lose hope and was heartbroken as he called out, "Somebody! Anybody!"

He became truly sad as he hung his head and said, "Help."

Tears flowed down Balto's face as he came to terms about his step-father's death. The pup sobbed as he made his way back to Nava's body. Wiggling under Nava's foreleg, Balto laid close to him and closed his eyes, wishing that it wasn't happening. Unaware to him, a shadow walks through the dusk cloud towards them. The shadow fell up Balto as Steele's voice said, "Balto."

The wolfdog pup looked back to see Steele with a calm yet shocked face as he questioned with a whisper, "What did you do?"

Balto moved out from Nava's leg and sobbed while trying to explain, "Th-there was a s-stampede of c-c-caribou, and h-h-he tried to save me." The pup sniffled and shook his head while saying, "It was an accident. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"Oh, of course. Of course, you didn't." Steele tried to calm him and pulled the pup away from Nava. He tried to comfort him by saying, "No one really means for these things to happen, kiddo." But he looked up and put it out there, "But our chief is gone."

Balto looked up to his uncle as the black and white malamute pointed out, "And I hate to say it, but if it kinda wasn't for you, he'd probably still be alive."

Balto looked away as he thought about it. And he had a feeling that his uncle could be right. But his attention was brought back to the older dog when Steele gasped, "What will your mother think? Not to mention the rest of the pack. They'd probably never be able trust you or any other wolfdogs like you." He shook his head and said with disappointment, "And your birth father had such high hopes for you."

Balto thinks to himself before asking, "What should I do, Uncle Steele?"

Steele leaned down to the pups face and looked Balto in the eye and said, "Run, Balto." Balto backed away and looked to Nava's still form before Steele ominously said, "Run. Run away and never come back."

Balto hesitated for a moment before turning tail and fled down into canyon. Steele sat there watching with a smirk as he nearly couldn't believe that his plan was working. But his smile faded as he knew that it wouldn't be full proof if Balto lived. Somehow knowing that they were there, Steele didn't hesitate when he ordered Dusk, Sunrise and Ed without remorse, "Kill that mutt."

The wolverines didn't hesitate as they raced after the wolfdog pup. Balto ran until he stopped before a giant wall of rocks. He tried to catch his breath when he heard the sound of growling behind him. Looking back, Balto gasped when he saw the three same wolverines from the boat graveyard. Braking into a run again Balto scrambled up the rock wall as the wolverines tried to attack. The little pup was barely able to squeeze through a space between two rocks before Sunrise tried to slash him with his claws.

The sun began to set as Balto kept running out of the canyon as Balto ran out of an overhang of rocks. But he slid to a stop before he went over the side. He watched as small stones tumbled down the side. Looking back he gasped when he saw the wolverines coming around the turn. Balto braced himself and jumped over the edge. The fall sent the pup tumbling down the slope while the three wolverines ran down after him. Balto flew over a small edge and landed in the middle of a giant briar patch. He then crawled through the thorns and branches as he made his escape.

The wolverines were close to the edge and Sunrise ran ahead of them before noticing what they were running into with a shout, "Whoa!"

The wolverine tried to slide to a stop and was successful. He let out a sigh of relief before Dusk bumped into him. Ed was the next to bump into them and it sent Sunrise flying off with a yell. He landed amongst the briars as his fellow wolverines looked to see what happened to him. A moment later, Sunrise jumped out of the briar patch with a yell and clutching his backside as he was covered with thorns.

Both Dusk and Ed laughed at his pain. Sunrise winced as he slowly made his way out of the briars and onto the rock. It hurt him to move as he squealed in pain. As he moved from the ledge, Dusk looked out to the edge of the brambles and shouted when she saw Balto running out of the Territories, "Hey! There he goes! There he goes!"

Balto continued running towards the setting sun. Sunrise had removed a few thorns from his paw and turned to his leader and said, "So go and get him."

"There ain't no way I'm going in there." Dusk shook her head. A smile formed on her face as she asked, "What you want me to come out looking like you, rose butt?"

Sunrise had just pulled a few of the thorns out of his backside and noticed that Ed was staring and still thought that Sunrise's pain was still funny. In an act of anger, Sunrise spat the thorns at him. Ed yelped in pain as they embedded into his snout and started to rub it. Sunrise looked to Dusk and reminded, "But we need to finish the job."

"Well, he's as good as dead out there anyway." Dusk said with a glare. Once he had all the thorns out, Sunrise walked up to her as she said with a smile, "And if he does happen to ever come back, then we'll kill him."

Sunrise smiled at the thought and shouted to the fleeing wolfdog pup, "Yeah! You hear any of that?! If you ever come back, we're gonna kill ya!"

The sun had just touched the horizon as the three wolverines laughed as they made their way back to Steele to inform him.

x

It was later that evening, and Steele had rounded up everyone within the pack. It was a sad night as Steele gave the unfortunate news, "My fellow packmates, I have troubling news to deliver to you all." He took in a deep breath before saying with his head bowed, "It is with great sadness that I must be the one to tell you that both Chief Nava and Prince Balto perished."

The entire pack, wolf and dog alike, gasped from this. Some even cried out, "No! This can't be!"

"It is, I'm afraid." Steele said with a shake of his head, "They had been killed in a caribou stampede in the gorge." He looked to the major-domo and said, "Paddy was with me when we arrived with Nava. But in his panic, I had also panicked and tried to snap it out of him with a slap. But it must have been to hard as it sent him crashing into the rocks."

Paddy nodded in shame as he thought that was might have happened. Steele then continued, "Nava rushed to the pups aid, but I wasn't able to see what else had happened to them as they ran out of sight. And though I had found Nava's body," He took a moment to sniffle, "I couldn't find any sign of my beloved nephew."

Steele sighed and said in convincing sadness, "Losing Nava, whom I thought of as a brother, was a great tragedy, but to lose young Balto, who had barely begun to live…"

He caught himself to keep from sobbing. The pack hung their heads in mourning at the loss of their fellow pack members. Aniu hung her head in sorrow as Paddy stood by her and patted her paw with his wing. Jenna pressed up against her leg as she wept for her best friend. Steele was able to calm himself and then said, "It is now with a heavy heart that I assume the mantle of chief." He opened his eyes as the shadows of the wolverines appeared on the rocks behind him as he said, "Yet out of this tragedy we'll rise and become stronger than ever."

Everyone in the pack, dog and wolf alike, gasped in shock as the wolverines started to come in from everywhere. Steele jumped over them and onto higher rocks as he said, "We will enter a new era in which canines and wolverines join together in a great and glorious future."

He walked to the top of the ledge and said, "An era where none of us have to fight for food anymore."

The wolverines started to cackle evilly as they surrounded Wolf's Peak. Sitting a good distance from the rock formation, Boris the shaman goose sat with his head in his wings as he thought how bad thing would get. He let out a groan and waddled off.

Much later, Boris sat in his tree and hung his head in sorrow at the loss of the chief and the prince. The old goose looked to the painting he had painted and he became even more sad. Standing up, Boris waddled over to the painting and gave it a final look before looking down and smearing the painting with a paw.

x

 **Author's Note:** I might do something totally different with the next chapter. I just don't know yet.


	10. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Balto or the story of The Lion King, only the story. The characters of Balto belongs to Universal and the story and songs of The Lion King belongs to Disney. They only thing that I do own is the OC's of the story. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

x

 **Chapter Eight: Meet Muru and Mluk**

Balto had ran through the mountains for three straight days. He came to a rocky area and collapsed when he became too weak to go on any further. As he lay against the cold gray stone, the pup still continued to blame himself for what happened to Nava. He passed out from the lack of food and the overbearing sun above him. Above the wolfdog pup, a flock of eagles flapped overhead. Normally, the eagles wouldn't eat things as they were dying compared to a fresh catch. But their hunting hadn't bore any fruits to their labors. The eagles descended upon the unconscious pup.

But before they could begin eating, the sound of yelling caused them to look up. Barreling towards them was a big white polar bear with a little mouse riding atop his head. When he reached the flock of eagles he swatted one away while horse kicking another. The little mouse shouted as he kicked another, "Get out! Get out of here!"

As the eagles flew away frightened, the polar bear grinned as he said in a fancy accent, "Bowling for buzzards sure is fun!"

"Get's them every time." The little mouse said with a laugh while he dusted himself off. His attention was called back when his polar bear friend said, "Uh-oh. Hey, Muru, you had better come take a look." The bear made a grossed out face as he said, "I think that it's still alive."

"Ew!" Muru cringed. The eagles had dropped the pups paw over his face when they were trying to peck at him. Muru scurried over to the unconscious pup and said, "All righty, what have got ourselves here?"

He sniffed around the head before lifting its paw up with a grunt. When he held the paw high over his head, Muru got a good look at its face and panicked and ran shouted, "Geez, it's a wolf!" He dropped the paw and ran away from the pup and jumped back onto the bear's head. Grabbing the ears he shouted, "Run, Mluk, move!"

"Hey, Muru," Mluk said to get the mouse to stop. His face softened when he looked down at Balto and said, "it's just a little wolf. Though I think it looks kind of like a dog."

"Oh, a wolfdog, eh?" Muru sarcastically said. Then he shouted, "Who cares!"

"But he's so cute and all alone." Mluk said. Then looking to the mouse he asks, "Can we keep him?"

Muru grabbed one of the bear's ears and comically shouts, "Mluk, are you nuts!" Then sounded really scared he said, "You're talking about a wolfdog. Wolves in general eat guys like us. Though he might have some difficulty eating you."

"But he's so little." Mluk said with a nod. It threw the mouse off of his head and Muru turned onto his back and pointed out, "He's gonna get bigger and faster."

"Maybe he'll be on our side." Muru said with a big smile. Muru started laughing as he thought that it sounded funny. He stood up while saying, "That's the most stupidest thing that I ever heard. Maybe he'll…" But the mouse stopped when he thought about it, "Hey, I've got it." Turning to his friend he asked, "What if he's on our side?"

Placing his paw to his chin he began to think of the possibilities as he walked in front of the polar bear, "You know, maybe having a wolf, or wolfdog, around might not be such a bad idea."

Then jumping back onto Mluk's head, he turned as Mluk picked the unconscious pup with one paw. Mluk sounded really happy when he asked, "So we're keeping him?"

Muru blew a raspberry and then said, "Of course, we're keeping her." Then he asked, "Who's the brains of the outfit?"

"Uh." Mluk said as he tried to think. Muru then said, "My point exactly." He wiped his brow and then commented, "Jeez, I'm fried. Let's get out of here and find some shade, especially for the pup."

Mluk then ran off along the barren rocks towards a lush forest. It wasn't long until Muru and Mluk brought to a pond on the outskirts of the forest. Setting Balto down on the ground close to it, Mluk watched as Muru hopped off of his head and scurried to the pond. Then with a quick motion of his tiny paws, the mouse threw water onto the pup's head. The clear liquid drew Balto back and he groggily opened his eyes. He looked about and saw the mouse and the polar bear.

"You going to be okay, kid?" Muru asked as he came closer. Balto, still feeling upset, looked down and said, "I guess so."

"You nearly died." Mluk bluntly put. Muru then said with a shrug, "We saved you. So there's that."

"Thanks for all your help." Balto said as got up with his head hanging and walked past them. He started walking back out of the forest as Muru asked, "Hey, where are you goin'?"

"Nowhere." Balto said as he kept on walking. Muru then said to Mluk, "Gee, he sure looks blue."

"I'd say more grayish actually." The polar bear said. Muru shook his head and told what he meant, "No, no, no. I mean he's depressed."

"Oh." Mluk said as he completely understood. The two friends quickly ran up to the pup. Balto looked back as Mluk came up and asked him, "Hey, what's eating at you, kid?"

"Nothing." Muru joked as both Balto and Mluk sat down. He continued with his joke by holding his hand high, "He's at the top of the food chain."

The mouse broke out into laughter from her joke. He kept on laughing as he lightly jabbed his elbow in Balto's side. Neither Balto or Mluk found it funny as he kept on laughing, "The food chain!"

When he finally noticed that they weren't laughing to his joke, Muru stopped,-* "Ahem." He took a deep breath and then calmly asked the pup, "So, where are you from?"

"Who cares? I can't go back." Balto said as he stood up and started walking again. This caused the duo to perk up a little as Muru ran in front of the pup and said, "Oh, you're an outcast." Then gesturing to Mluk and himself he said with a big grin, "That's great. So are we."

"What'd you do, kid?" Mluk asked, wondering what's got Balto so depressed. Sitting back down, he felt guilty as he thought about it, "Something terrible. But really don't want to talk about it."

"Good. We don't want to hear about it." Muru shook his head while having his arms crossed. Thinking that he was being a little insensitive, Mluk nudged him with his paw and said, "Come on, Muru." He looked to the pup and asked, "Anything we can do to help?"

"Not unless you can change the past." Balto said with his shoulders hunched. Mluk then smiled and said, "You know, kid, in times like this, my good friend Muru here says," He pauses to clear his throat while Muru smiled and then said, "You got to put your behind in your past."

"No, no, no." Muru says with a wave of his arms. Mluk tried to fix his mistake, "I mean, uh…"

"Amateur." Mluk commented to the polar bear. As he moved closer to the pup he looked to Mluk and said, "Lie down before you hurt yourself."

Mluk hunched his shoulders as Muru looked to Balto and correctly said, "It's "you got to put your past behind you"." Balto was a little confused as the mouse said, "Look, kid, bad things will happen, and there's nothing you can do anything about it, right?"

"Right." Balto agreed. But Muru poked him in the snout and shouted, "Wrong!" Then with a dramatic sweep of his paw he said, "When the world turns its back on you," He looked back at the wolfdog pup and smugly said, "you turn your back on the world."

"Well, that's not what I was taught." Balto said, not feeling different. A smile was shared between Mluk and the mouse as the former then suggested, "Then maybe it's time that you needed a new lesson. Repeat after me." Then clearing his throat he said with a proud smile, "Hakuna Matata."

"What?" Balto asked, really confused now. Mluk then said the word and explained what it meant, "Ha-ku-na Ma-ta-ta. It means 'no worries'."

Spirits then began to play an upbeat melody as Muru then began to sing…

 **Muru:** _Hakuna Matata_

 _What a wonderful phrase_

Mluk stepped closer with a big grin on his face…

 **Mluk:** _Hakuna Matata_

 _Ain't no passin' craze_

Muru really got into the rhythm as he zipped to the other side of Balto and danced as he guided Balto back into the forest…

 **Muru:** _It means no worries_

 _For the rest of your days_

Mluk brought up the rear as they walked through the woods. When they came to a stop in a more lush spot, Muru pushed Balto back against a thick bush. With a couple of rocks sitting on the side, it kind of looked like some kind of throne. While Mluk held a leaf and used it to fan Balto, Muru grabbed his left paw and filed down one of his claws.

 **Muru and Mluk:** _It's our problem-free philosophy_

 **Muru:** _Hakuna Matata_

"Hakuna Matata?" Balto asked as he looked between them, still kind of confused about it. Mluk then said, "Yeah. It's our motto."

"What's a motto?" The little pup asked, not knowing the word. Muru popped up next to him and made another joke, "Nothin'. What's-a-motto with you?"

Both him and Mluk laughed at this joke as Mluk came closer. Mluk then said to Balto, "You know, kid, these two words will solve all your problems."

"That's right." Muru said in agreement. Then gesturing to Mluk he said, "Take Mluk here for example. Why…" He sung this next part…

 **Muru:** _When he was just a young polar bear_

Mluk sat on his hindlegs and had a paw raised high into the air as he sang opera-style…

 **Mluk:** _When I was just a young polar bear_

Muru started rubbing the inside of his ear and then sarcastically said, "Very nice."

"Thanks." Mluk said, thinking that it was a compliment.

Muru then described Mluk's tragic back story through song…

(Begin Flashback)

The polar bear walked through a field of tall grass as he made his way to a watering hole.

 **Muru:** _He found that his aroma lacked a certain appeal_

 _He could clear a forest after ever meal_

As he walked closer to the edge of the water, Mluk nervously looked about before leaning down to drink.

 **Mluk:** _I'm a sensitive soul_

 _Though I seem thick-skinned_

But as he drank his fill, a small sound and odor escaped from behind him. It caused the grass and flowers behind him to wilt. It also made the other animals nearby to lift their heads and sniff the air.

 _And it hurt that my friends_

 _Never stood downwind_

All the other animals took off as the younger Mluk threw his head in the air and shouted…

(End of Flashback)

 **Mluk now:** _And, oh, the shame_

Balto looked up to Muru who was on his head as church music began to play.

 **Muru:** _How he was ashamed_

Mluk stepped into a spotlight as he sang his feelings…

 **Mluk:** _Thought of changing my name_

Muru shook his hands in the air as he questioned…

 **Muru:** _Oh, what's in a name_

The spotlight moved when the polar bear moved…

 **Mluk with sad and soulful eyes:** _And I got downhearted_

Muru then asked his friend…

 **Muru:** _How did you feel?_

 **Mluk:** _Every time that I…_

But Muru quickly ran up to the polar bear and pressed his paws against Mluk's mouth and said, "Hey, Mluk," Then he somehow broke some forth wall by turning and saying, "not in front of the kids."

"Oh." Mluk said as he looked to the camera as well and apologized with a smile, "sorry."

This really confused Balto as he too looked to the audience. But the rhythm of the music picked up again as Muru and Mluk stood on their back legs and tapped to the song…

 **Muru and Mluk:** _Hakuna Matata_

 _What a wonderful phrase_

Balto watched with a smile as they started running in place and moved their arms in time as well. As they started to strike different poses, Balto began to feel the beat and tapped his right back foot…

 **Muru and Mluk:** _Hakuna Matata_

 _Ain't no passin' craze_

Then deciding to take a shot, Balto stood up as a spotlight dropped down on him and he too began to sing…

 **Balto:** _It means no worries_

 _For the rest of your daze_

Muru slid up to him on his knees and said with a smirk, "Yeah, sing it, kid."

The mouse then hopped onto the wolfdog pup's head and they both sang together…

 **Muru and Balto:** _It's our problem-free_

Mluk landed next to them with a fart, hopefully not, and sang…

 **Mluk:** _Philosophy_

Balto and Mluk pressed up against each other's side while Muru leaned an arm against the bear as they all sang…

 **Muru, Mluk and Balto:** _Hakuna Matata_

A few minutes later they walked further into the forest and stopped between two trees. In between the trees were tall bushes. Mluk stood on his back legs as he used his forepaws to push both bushes to the side. Balto became amazed by the sheer beauty of the land. Muru then said, "Welcome to our humble home."

"You guys live here?" Balto asked as he looked about. There were many hills and mountains as rivers ran though them. She could spot a few tall waterfalls here and there throughout this wonderful land. Muru then said with a chuckled, "We live wherever we want."

"Yep." Mluk said moving in front of him, "Home is where your rump rests."

"It's really beautiful." Balto said as they continued walking about. As they continued walking through, Mluk gave a loud belch and then said, "I'm starved."

"I'm so hungry I bet I could a whole caribou." Balto said as he was beginning to feel really hungry. The made Muru stop and nervously chuckle before saying, "Ah. We're fresh out of caribou."

"Any elk?" Balto asked, really hoping. But Muru just shook his head and said, "Nuh-uh."

"Pheasants?" The little pup asked, starting to get a little worried. Once again Muru shook his head and said, "Nope."

Moving closer to the wolfdog pup, the mouse explained how it worked around this place, "Listen, kid, if you're gonna stay here and live with us, you're gonna have to eat like us."

Turning, he walked over to a moss covered log and said, "Hey, this looks like a good place to rustle up some grub."

With a snap of his tiny fingers, Mluk walked over and picked the log up with his big paws. Balto got a closer look at what was beneath the log. He thought it was pretty disgusting, "Ew, what's that?"

"A grub." Muru said when picked one up and turned to reveal a large red grub of some kind. Then he rhetorically asked, "What's it look like?"

"Ew! Gross!" Balto said and cringed from the sight. Muru, haven eaten the grub very quickly, licked off his fingers before saying, "Mmm. Tastes like cheese."

"What's cheese?" The pup asked. Muru just shrugged while Mluk got a hold of a long worm. Balto was taken aback when he slurped it out of the ground. Then he said with a content grin, "Slimy yet satisfying."

Muru have moved over to a mound where insects of many kinds moved about and said, "These here are rare delicacies." He picked up a red insect, he bit off the head before sounding fancy as he complimented the taste, "Piquant, with a very pleasant crunch to it." Then he threw the rest into his mouth.

Mluk moved closer to Balto, who was slightly disturbed to see his mouth filled with bugs, and talked with it full, "You'll learn to love them."

"I'm telling you, kid," Muru said as he had a leaf in one of his paws and walked on his back legs while walking next to the overturned log, and collected bugs that he could catch, "this is the great life," moving the leaf from one hand to the other he stuck his hand in a large knot hole as she said, "no rules, no responsibilities."

When he pulled his hand back out, he was delighted when he also pulled out a large, squishy, blue bug and said, "Ooh, the little cream-filled kind." Then he popped it into his mouth.

He walked over to Balto and Mluk and held the leaf up to the pup's face. With a big smile he says, "Well, kid?"

Balto was completely unsure about any of it as he picked up a red grub off the plate. Muru backed away as Balto held the grub in his paw and held it up and said, "Oh, well. Hakuna Matata."

Then sticking the grub's head in his mouth he then slurped the rest of it in. He then forcefully swallowed it down, and smacked his lips and thought that it wasn't very good. But after a moment, he pondered its taste, and Balto perked up and said, "Slimy, yet satisfying."

"That's it." Muru said as the rest of the bugs jumped or flew off the leaf.

Time flew by quickly as the three friends spent time together. The summers and springs were really great and the winter and fall didn't get worse. As they took their no rules or responsibilities to heart, they did many fun things to do together. Sometimes they would play together, race against each other and whatever else friends did. And they really liked to spend a lot of their time by walking across a really long log. And as years past, Balto grew bigger and stronger while he continued to spend time with the mouse and the polar bear. Then one day, as they were cruising around the forest like they usually did, Muru and Mluk tossed their heads from side to side as they started to sing again…

 **Muru and Mluk:** _Hakuna Matata_

 _Hakuna Matata_

 _Hakuna Matata_

 _Hakuna…_

Balto came up behind them, now much bigger than he was. He wasn't any bigger than Mluk, but he didn't mind. His paws had become as big as a wolf's while his snout, legs and tail had gotten longer. His back was a much darker shake of grey while he had a white underbelly. He had a great big smile as he sang in his adult voice…

 **Balto:** _It means no worries_

He walked up to the two of them and stood by them…

 _For the rest of your days_

Muru jumped onto Balto's head as he and the polar bear pressed up against each other. The three then harmonized…

 **Muru, Mluk and Balto:** _It's our problem-free_

 _Philosophy_

 _Hakuna Matata_

They then ran off into the forest and came up to a log that over looked a small pond. Muru was the first to go as he jumped off of Balto's head and then jumped off the log. As he fell through the air, Muru folded himself and did a cannonball that resulted in a big yet still small splash.

 _Hakuna Matata_

Mluk was next as he ran to the edge of the log and jumped off. He was graceful as he maneuvered his body into a swan dive. His splash was not graceful yet he never broke his form as water was splashed everywhere.

 _Hakuna Matata_

Balto quickly followed after them and ran to the edge. He saw a vine not too far from the log and made the jump for it. He caught the vine in his jaws and started to swing out over the pond. But before he could let go, the vine snapped from the strain and he fell into the water. The wolfdog didn't seem to mind as he swam to the shore and was met by Muru and Mluk. The three then shook themselves off and all three's fur fluffed up with a,, "Brrrrrr!"

Their fur fell back down as they walked off singing…

 _Hakuna Matata_

 _Yeah_

Then all three friends started to walk off into the forests of Hakuna Matata Forest. They little dance as Muru shook his behind while riding on Mluk's back. Mluk shook his head from side to side and Balto stepped to the beat as they walked.

 _Ta-ta_

Balto began to laugh at having a wonderful time with his friends.

x

 **Author's Note:** Almost done with it. I actually like doing this one.


	11. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Balto or the story of The Lion King, only the story. The characters of Balto belongs to Universal and the story and songs of The Lion King belongs to Disney. They only thing that I do own is the OC's of the story. We're almost done with this little redo of the story. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

x

 **Chapter Nine: The Good and the Bad**

Three shapes quickly ran through the woods as they screamed in fear. Balto, Muru and Mluk were running away from an angry grizzly bear. Mluk shouted up to Muru as the mouse was riding atop his head, "Why did you have to steal that bear's honey?!"

"Why can't you talk some sense into your fellow bear?!" Muru questioned back. Balto rolled his eyes at their bickering and then shouted, "Can we yell at each other when we're not being chased?"

The two then stopped arguing as they turned a right. The bear crashed through foliage after them and roared in anger. Balto rounded some rocks and waited before reaching out and grabbing a hold of Mluk's scruff with his teeth. The polar bear yelped as he was pulled back. Balto pressed them against the rock as the grizzly bear sped past. It didn't even seem to notice that they weren't in front of it anymore.

Once Balto was for sure that it was gone, he and the other two let out a sigh of relief. A moment later, the three friends were laughing. Muru hopped over onto Balto's head and said, "That was a very dumb thing for you to do, kid."

"Me?" Balto questioned and turned his gaze up to the mouse. Then he reminded, "You're the one who asked me to distract the grizzly while you and Mluk tried to get at the honey. So this is all on you, buddy."

"Hey, if anything," Muru said and pointed to Mluk, "Frosty the bear here is the one who goofed up when he couldn't lift me high enough to get to the hole in the tree."

"Please!" Mluk argued, "You were the one who screamed when one of the bees got too close and that's what alerted the grizzly."

Muru blew a raspberry and said, "You couldn't even catch me now, Frost fur."

"Oh, yeah?" Mluk said as he accepted the challenge. He swiped at the mouse on Balto's head and they both ducked. Balto then said, "Hey, watch where you're swiping, man!"

"Aw." Mluk said mockingly, "Is little wolfy scared he's gonna get a hair out of place."

"I'll show you scared." Balto said as he tensed up his body. Mluk tried to run away, but Balto leapt, causing Muru to fall off his head, and tackled into the polar bear's side. Both polar bear and wolfdog rolled across the ground as they wrestled with each other. When they stopped, Mluk had his forelegs wrapped around Balto's midsection and the wolfdog squirmed in his grasp. Lightly nipping the polar bear's shoulder and it caused Mluk to drop him out of fright. Balto then grabbed the polar bear's ear with his teeth and lightly tugged to where he didn't hurt his friend. Muru chuckled to himself as he watched. But then they all heard the sound of brush crashing they suddenly stopped. Balto ran ahead and shouted back, "Race you guys back to our spot!"

Muru and Mluk looked to each other before the mouse hopped up on Mluk's head. The polar bear then broke into a run after Balto before they were chased again.

x

Though Balto was having a good time with his new friends far from the Territories, things were very much the opposite back home. Ever since Nava's unfortunate passing and the introduction to the semi-ferals, the land had fallen apart from neglect. The plants had died off and most of the animal herds had left. Wolf's Peak wasn't any better as the wolverines swarmed around. And inside one of the many caves, only one dog didn't seem to totally mind the state of the land.

 **A depressed Paddy:** _Nobody knows_

 _The trouble I've seen_

The yellow duck was currently trapped within a ribcage next to a bed shaped rock that had a bit of a headrest to it. Paddy sang as Steele laid on his back on the rock, picking his teeth with a bone as Paddy sang…

 **Paddy:** _Nobody knows_

 _My sorrows_

"Oh, come on now, Paddy-whack. You need to lighten up." Steele commented with a grin. Then he flung the bone at the ribcage. Paddy glared at him as the black and white malamute said, "Why don't you sing something with a little more bounce in it."

Paddy thought for a moment before sarcastically singing…

 **Paddy:** _IT'S a small world after all_

"No! No! Anything but that!" Steele shouted with a glare as he turned to him and sat up. Paddy sighed before coming up with another tune to sing…

 **Paddy:** _I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts_

 _Deedle dee dee_

 _There they are a-standing in a row_

Steele laid back down and started waving his paw from side to side to go with the beat. With his other paw he picked up a skull and stuck to of his claws through to make it look scary and started singing with the yellow duck…

 **Paddy and Steele:** _Big ones, small ones,_

 _Some as big as your head_

Paddy stopped singing with a sigh while Steele went on. Then he tried to mutter to himself, "I would never have had to this with either Togo or Nava."

"What?!" Steele shouted, clearly having hear it. He moved over to the cage and angrily questioned, "What did you say?"

"Oh, it was nothing." Paddy quickly tried to say to calm him. But Steele snarled as he reminded the bird, "You know the law! No one is to mention those names, in my presence." He shoved his snout through ribs and growled, "I. Am. The Chief!"

The growl sent Paddy stumbling backwards and he fell. Picking himself back up he said, "Yes, sir, you are the chief." Then he tried to be persuasive by saying, "I only said that to illustrate the differences between your managerial approaches."

"Hey, boss!" Sunrise's voice called from outside. Steele groaned in irritation as he looked to the opening to the cave. Dusk, Sunrise and Ed all came into the cave and Sunrise rudely said, "We got a bone to pick with you."

"I'll handle this." Dusk assured him. Turning back to the black and white malamute she told him, "Steele, there's no food, no water."

"Yeah." Sunrise added in complaint. Steele rolled his eyes as the wolverine continued, "It's dinner time and we don't have no sticking entrée's."

"You know it's the wolf side of the pack's job to do the hunting." Steele said with a huff. Sunrise shook his head as he said, "Yeah, but they won't go hunt."

"Uh!" Steele growled. Then pointing to the trapped bird he said, "Oh, just eat Paddy."

"Oh, no!" Paddy cried as he pointed out, "You wouldn't want me. I'm so tough and gamey. It would be all like… Ew!"

Steele chuckled and then said, "Oh, Paddy, don't be ridiculous. I bet all you'd need is a little garnish…"

"And I thought things were bad under Nava." Sunrise whispered with a paw to his muzzle. Dusk looked to see if Steele heard. Unfortunately, Steele did hear as he turned back with a growl, "What did you just say?!"

"I said Na-" Sunrise was about to say when Dusk roughly nudged him while looking to Steele with a smile. The male wolverine then realized before correcting what he was about to say, "I said lava."

"Good." Steele growled. Then with a gesture of his head he ordered, "Now go and get lost."

The three wolverines turned and walked out the cave. They weren't but a few feet from the entrance when they looked back and Sunrise said, "Yeah, but, we're still hungry."

"Out!" Steele snarled. It was enough to make the wolverines run out with Ed giving off a crazed laugh. Steele sighed as he moved back to the stone bed. As he hopped up onto it, another face stuck their head into the cave. Steele looked up and a smile formed on his face when he saw a female red and white husky enter. Steele then said, "Oh, Jenna. What brings you here?"

"Steele, we need to talk." Jenna firmly said as she walks up to the stone bed. Jenna had grown so much from the little pup she once was. Everything about her had become a thing of beauty. Steele sat up and said, "Anything you want."

"Okay." Jenna said, feeling a little uneasy as she stopped before him. Taking a deep breath she then said, "Things aren't looking so good in the Territories, or for us."

"Yeah. I here ya." Steele said, not really paying attention but just staring at her. Jenna then said, "We need to do something different. With everything; the wolverines, the dogs and the wolves."

This caused Steele to stop smiling and look at her with a slight glare. Steele then softly questioned, "What about all of this?"

Jenna noticed his change in demeanor and carefully thought about how to say, "What I mean is, we won't last much longer without the herds who have left the Territories. I fear that the wolves have been made to over hunt."

"Well, what do you suggest?" Steele commented as he leaned on his paw. Jenna took a deep breath and said, "I think that if we convince all the herds that the pack won't over hunt, then they might convince the herds that have fled to come back."

"Mm-hmm." Steele nodded. Then he sat back up and said, "An astounding theory, but unfortunately, the only reason that the wolves are hunting so much is for our wolverines friends. Not to mention that I had to placed Dusk in charge of overseeing the hunts."

"But they keep ordering those in the hunting parties to take down more than what we need." Jenna lightly argued. Steele shook his head and said, "It's all in the good to feed both the pack and the wolverine clan." He hopped off the stone bed and came a little too close as he looked into her eyes and said, "So if they need the pack to take down a little more prey, then that's what it takes."

"But-" Jenna tried to say, but Steele cut her off by saying, "Jenna, I do admire that you want to care for everyone, but there is nothing that can be done for the greater or good for everyone." Leaning a little closer he then firmly said, "So as of right now, this discussion is over."

Jenna couldn't find the words to say as the black and white malamute walked past her. He walked around her to get a better look and came back to her face. Placing a paw under her chin he said, "Aw, don't look so glum, Jenna." Moving to where he stood beside her, he waved a paw through the air as he said, "Just think of the future and hope that things will get better."

"I guess so." Jenna said as she closed her eyes and looked down. Steele then placed his paw under chin again and moved it to where she could see into his eyes, "Now that that's out of the way, there's been something that I've been meaning to ask ya."

"What?" Jenna said, feeling a little uncomfortable at how close he was to her. Steele then said, "I was wondering if you would become my life mate for the pack."

Jena was taken aback by his proposal and was at a loss for words. Jenna then tried to get her brain to think. Then she shook her head as she said, "I don't know about it, Steele. I just don't think that I'd make a good wife for you."

"Oh," Steele shook his head and said, "Don't talk like that. I'm sure that you'd be great." He chuckled and he said, "But if you need time to think about it, then there's no need to rush."

"Thank you, Steele," Jenna said with a bow as she backed out of the cave, "for your kind words."

Steele just watched as she turned and walked out the cave entrance. Jenna then turned to the left and quickly walked away. Steele turned to Paddy and said, "Oh yeah, she wants me."

Paddy waited for him to turn away before rolling his eyes.

x

Jenna quickly turned her walk into a run as she made her way to the dens of the wolves. As she came down the path, Aniu and her mother waited for. They walked with her as she kept going. Aniu seemed to know what was on her mind and said, "He wouldn't try for change."

"No." Jenna said with a sigh. Her mother then asked, "What did you expect, Jenna? Steele's let his ego go so far that he won't hear out anyone else."

"I know." Jenna said in defeat. Then she added, "And he's asked me to become his life mate." This shocked her mother as she looked to the former alpha female she asked, "What should we do, Aniu?"

"There's only a few things that we could do." Aniu said as they continued walking. Jenna and her mother Eve listened closely as she said, "We could continue living like this, but the Circle of Life is too damaged for us to stay. And everyone knows that Steele isn't going to do anything about it. And I doubt that Jenna marrying him would do anything to help."

"As if I would want to marry him." Jenna muttered under her breath. Aniu took in a deep breath and said, "One of us must escape beyond the mountains, and find help. And should no help be found, then hopefully they can lead better lives than here."

Both Jenna and her mother were shocked by this. But after thinking about it Jenna said, "I will go."

"Jenna!" Eve said, thinking that it was madness. Jenna looked to her mother and said, "Mother, we know that this is for the best. Someone needs to get help, or else we will all die."

Eve sighed and then sighed. A smile formed on her face and she said, "You're right. You're completely right." She placed her paw against her child's cheek and said, "I just wish you weren't the one who was going."

"I know." Jenna said in understanding. Aniu then said, "But I would wait for a day or two. Steele has just asked for your union. It would probably be unwise to disappear so suddenly."

"Then how will I know when the right time comes." Jenna asked. Aniu smiled and said, "You will know."

Both her and Eve left her alone as she sat down. Jenna looked out over the ledge and towards the barren Territories. She sighed and then said, "Oh, Balto. If only you were still alive. You'd know how to fix everything." She looked up to the sky and asked, "What would you have done?"

x

It was late at night within Hakuna Matata Forest, and all was quiet throughout the beautiful land. It wasn't much longer before the peace was disturbed by a loud belch that echoes throughout the forest. Laying on a hillside within a meadow, Balto, Mluk and Muru were on their backs and gazing up at the sky. Muru was splayed out in cross fashion, Mluk had his paws behind his head and Balto had his forepaws resting on his chest. Muru didn't move from his spot as he said to the wolfdog, "Whoa! Nice one, Balto."

"Gee, thanks." Balto said with a smile. Then he fidgeted in the grass to get more comfortable and said, "Man, I'm really stuffed."

"Me, too. I ate like a bear." Mluk said in content. Balto looked over to the polar bear and looked bemused as he said, "Mluk, you are a bear."

"Oh." Mluk said as he knew that he was right, "That's right. My bad."

"No worries." Balto said as he turned his gaze back up. The three friends then took a deep breath before letting out blissful sighs. Mluk smacked his lips while Balto scratched his belly. Mluk then wondered about something and asked, "Muru?"

"Yeah?" The little mouse replied. The polar bear then asked, "Do you ever what those sparkling dots are up there?"

"Mluk, Mluk," Muru said as if he truly knew what they were, "I don't really wonder, I know."

"Oh? Okay." Mluk said. Then he asked, "What are they?"

"They're fireflies." Muru said as if he believed it himself. Then he tried to explain it, "They're fireflies that got stuck up in that big blue-ish black thing."

"Huh, really?" The polar bear said as he was thinking different. Then he voiced his thoughts, "I always thought they were giant balls of gas burning billions of miles away."

"Mluk, with you everything is gas." Muru commented. Mluk then turned the question over to the wolfdog and asked, "What do you think, Balto?"

Balto did have an answer, but he started to remember that it came from someone that meant a lot to him. And he thought that if he started talking about it, he'd start to feel down again. He tried to put it off, "Well, I don't know."

But both Muru and Mluk knew that he wasn't being totally honest with them and tried, "Ah, come on. Give, give, give, give. Come on. We told you both of ours. Please?"

Balto gave in and started, "Well…" Then he said what his step-father and birth father were taught, "Somebody once told me that the great chiefs of the past are up there watching over us."

"Really?" Mluk asked as he looked over to Balto. Muru was sounding a little skeptical as he asked, "You mean a bunch of dead chieftains are watching us?" The mouse tried to keep his composure but he blew a raspberry and started laughing. Even Mluk started to laugh at it. But it wasn't funny to Balto even though he pretended to laugh. Propping himself up on his tiny elbows, Muru turned to Balto and said, "Who told you something as ridiculous like that?"

"Yeah." Balto chuckled as he wiped off his chest with his paw, "Sounds pretty dumb, huh?"

"Aw, you're killing me." Muru laughed as he tried to calm himself down. Balto's face becomes truly sad and he looks back up into the sky. He looks to the stars and starts to wonder if what Nava had told him is true. He then wondered if the wolf was watching him right now. Sitting up, Balto stood up on his feet and walked off. Muru looked to Mluk and asked, "Was it something I said?"

Balto had come up to a cliff that overlooked a part of the forest. He stood at the edge with his head hanging in shame before looking back up at the stars. Then with a sigh, he flopped down in sadness and made the flowers closest to him to lose their blooming petals. The petals were carried off on the wind.

The flower petals were carried by the winds all the way back to the Territories two days later. They floated high into the air before descending through the air and came close to a certain tree. And just when they were about to blow right past it a white wing reached up and snapped them out of the air. The wing lowered its findings to the beaked face of Boris the shaman goose. He examined the petals with a few good sniffs and his eyes widened when he noticed something on them.

"Hmm." Boris said as he began to think. Then with a flap of his wings, Boris lifted off the branch and glided down. He banked left and flapped into the branches of the tree. When he reached the middle he placed the petals in a bowl and started swirling the contents in it. He hummed to himself all the while before reaching over and grabbing a berry. Popping the berry into his mouth Boris then looked closely at the flower petals and noticed something amazing about them, "Hmm." He looked even closer his eyes widened even more as he looked away from the bowl and asked, "Balto?" Turning to the painting he happily said, "He's… He is alive?" He let out a happy yell and shouted, "He's alive!"

Running to get his staff, Boris grabbed it before returning to the finger painting with a bowl of grey paint in tow. Setting both down, he dipped a feather into the bowl and was about to start when a laugh of pure joy escaped him. He kept on laughing as he refined the finger painting to make it Balto look more like the chief has become. With a look of hope, he proudly said with a smile, "It is time!"

Then he thought of who exactly to send for him.

x

Back at Wolf's Peak, Jenna was walking by the main cave. It had been exactly two days when Aniu had told her to wait. As she was about to walk in front of the opening, a silhouette started to emerge. The sudden appearance of Steele startled her and she backed away. He had a smile on his face as he said, "Oh, Jenna. I'm sorry. I, didn't see you there."

"Hello, Steele." Jenna said as she averted her gaze. Steele walked around her and asked, "Did you happen to think about my offer?"

"I did." She said as she carefully thought about how to say it. Jenna stood firm and said, "But I must respectfully decline."

Steele's face fell into a grim frown as he stepped a few feet away from her. He didn't look back as he asked, "Is there any reason to why you can't become mine?"

"It's just that," Jenna started. She knew that she had to step carefully at this point. She then said, "I don't feel like I'm ready to make such a commitment like this. And I don't want to be unfair on you."

Steele didn't say anything, but he didn't look too happy from what she could see. Jenna took a step closer and said, "I know that my decision has disappointed you, but I wouldn't have told you if it didn't feel right."

"And I respect that." Steele said, surprising her a little. Jenna then asked, "Really?"

"Of course." Her chief said and then turned and walked past her. She followed him with her gaze and saw Dusk coming up the stone steps. Steele then said, "Dusk. I have new orders for you."

"Yes, boss?" She said with a bow. Steele's face was emotionless as he said, "I want you to tell the wolverine clan and Aniu to make the wolf side of the pack to work even more. Order them to hunt even more than they can. Work them to the bone if you have to."

"Yes, Chief Steele." Dusk said and turned to walk away. But she didn't even make it to the first step when her leader called out, "Oh, and Dusk?"

"Yes, sir?" Dusk asked and looked back. He looked to Jenna who had wide eyes as he said, "Be sure to throw in any wolf lovers, too. Should they seem sympathetic in any way."

"Yes, Chief Steele." The wolverine said and took her leave. Jenna, becoming angry at this, walked over to Steele and said, "Chief Steele, please don't take your anger out on the wolves. This was my choice, so be mad at me."

"Too late." Steele said and walked away. Jenna hung her head in shame as she felt awful. Aniu came up to her and said, "Do not blame yourself, Jenna."

"But-" Jenna tried to say, but Aniu cut her off with her paw to the husky's shoulder. The white wolf smiled as she said, "This was the most likely of outcomes. But now you must go."

Jenna nodded and bounded away from her. But before she walked down the stone steps, the red and white husky glanced once more at the white wolf. Aniu gave Jenna another smile and nodded. Jenna smiled to, though it felt as if her heart were breaking. Then not wasting another moment, Jenna ran down the steps.

x

Jenna quickly ran from Wolf's Peak and started to enter a dying forest. She slowed her pace and stopped to think for a moment. She realized that she didn't know where to go or who to find. Jenna sat down as she felt that this was becoming hopeless.

"Don't give up yet, young one." A voice said from up in the trees. Jenna looked up but didn't see anyone. The voice then said, "I know of someone that you can go to for help."

"Really? Who?" Jenna asked the voice as she stood up. The voice then told her, "You must travel beyond the mountains until you come to a tall and great forest. Only then will you find whom you seek."

"A tall forest?" Jenna questioned, starting to believe that it sounded made up, especially with so many large forests with tall trees. The voice chuckled and said, "You must believe in what you seek and you shall know."

"But how will I be able to tell?" Jenna asked the voice. When it didn't answer back she knew that she was alone again. Having at least some kind of destination in mind, Jenna started running again. She just hoped that everyone back home could hold out while she was away.

x

Unbeknown to everyone, a puff of smoke could be seen on the horizon of the sea.

x

 **Author's Note:** And I believe you all know that something unexpected is gonna happen. And a small spoiler alert, I will be throwing in a familiar face. But I won't be saying who.


	12. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of either Balto or The Lion King, only the story. The characters of Balto belongs to Universal and the characters of The Lion King belongs to Disney. They only thing that I do own are the OC's of the story. This is just how I did the first time I wrote this story.

x

 **Chapter Ten: A Familiar face and Some Romance**

It was late in the afternoon in Hakuna Matata Forest. Muru the mouse and Mluk the polar bear were enjoying a nice walk through the woods. Their friend Balto was somewhere off on his own, probably was still feeling down from the other night. Muru and Mluk thought it be best to leave him alone for a little while. As they walked along they were singing 'The Wolfdog Sleeps Tonight'. Mluk provided the background music while Muru sang the lyrics…

 **Mluk:** _A-wimoweh, a-wimoweh_

 **Muru:** _In the forest_

 _The mighty forest_

 _The wolfdog sleeps tonight_

 _In the forest_

 _The mighty forest_

 _The wolfdog sleeps…_

Mluk stops singing when he notices a beetle land right in front of him. The beetle starts to walk off in the woods, causing Mluk to hungrily follow it. When he disappeared into a bush, he left Muru alone as the mouse kept singing. Muru didn't hear the background music and shouted, "I can't hear you, buddy, back me up!" Then he sang the last line on a high note and did a shake of his body.

 **Muru:** _A-wiiiiii_

 _Iiiiii-iiiiii-iiii_

 _A-Mluk-bum-baa-weh_

When he didn't hear his friend, Muru took a deep breath, looked back and asked, "Mluk?" That's when he noticed that Mluk was gone. He looks around for his pal, but couldn't see him. He tries calling out, "Mluk?"

Mluk hummed as he followed the beetle further into the forest, far away from Muru. He went so far in fact that he couldn't hear the mouse's voice when he called. He continued to follow the beetle before it takes flight to an overturned log. With a grin, Mluk starts to stalk the bug, but quickly hid behind the trunk of a tree when the beetle senses danger and turns around. The polar bear peeked around the tree as the beetle turns back around. Mluk licks his chops as he quickly went after the bug as it disappeared over the log. Mluk tried to jump over the log, but had to climb it. As he tried climbing it, a soft snap of a twig causes him to freeze. Looking behind him he says, "Muru?"

He looked for a sign of his friend, but all he saw were a couple of trees and an open field of grass. Mluk shrugged it off and climbed over the log. Mluk raises his right next to the beetle with every intention of eating it. But before he could, the beetle takes off in flight. Then he noticed something in the tall grass moving towards him. The creature looked canine-ish and he thought that it was just Balto. But when he took a closer look, he noticed that this canine had red and white fur, and looked more like a female husky dog. He became afraid when he heard her softly growling.

"AHHHHH!" Mluk screams in terror, but this only makes the she-dog charge at him with a growl. Mluk maybe a polar bear, but he wasn't exactly much in the brave department at this moment. Quickly scooting back, Mluk then turned and ran away as the she-dog jumps clear over the log after him. Mluk runs as fast as he could, but the she-dog is quickly catching up. The red and white she-dog growls loudly as he continues to chase Mluk through the forest. Muru could hear the sounds of the chase. He looks about and calls out, "Mluk?"

Mluk did his best trying to avoid the she-dog, but she was gaining on him fast. Jumping over rocks and running around trees, the polar bear tried to shake her, but the she-dog was able to follow. They came to a giant tree and zig-zag across it. Mluk nearly avoids getting pounced on as they ran off it. Mluk gains a little distance and saw a root raised in the air. Thinking that it would be big enough from him, he dives for it. Muru had been running in the same direction and was nearly scared out of his wits when Mluk came through the root and got stuck. The polar bear frantically scrambled to get out. Muru, not fully understanding the situation, asks, "Mluk! Mluk! Hey, what's goin' on?"

"SHE'S GOING TO EAT ME!" Mluk shouts in Muru's face. Still not understanding the problem, the mouse climbs over the bear and onto the root to see what it was while asking, "Huh?"

That's when he saw the red and white she-dog running at them at full speed. "Whoa!" Muru shouts. Jumping down to Mluk's rear, he started to push him. But as hard as he pushed, he wasn't able to get Mluk through and said, "Jeez! Why do I always have save your- AAHHHHH!" His rant turned into a scream when he turned and saw that the she-dog was much closer.

And just when the she-dog opens his jaws and bounds over at them, Muru's fear turns into surprise as he saw Balto's shadow loom over them. The she-dog slid to a stop as she was confused at seeing the grey furred wolfdog jump over his friends. But her confusion turned into anger as Balto tackled her to the ground. She lay under him but had a paw pressing up against his chin while pushing him off, glaring at the she-dog. Balto looks back down at her with an equal glare and bared teeth. The she-dog pushes him off of her and rises on her back legs. Both canines circle each other, growling and trying to scratch each other. Balto lunged for her again, but the she-dog jumped back and came forward with a headbutt his in the shoulder. He stumbled back but looked her in the eye as he bared his teeth and growled. The she-dog growled back as she charged at him. He reared up on his hindlegs and tried to scratch her in the face, but only barely got the top of her head as she used her shoulder to knock him on his back. The she-dog quickly steps over him and with a snarl tried to lunge for his neck. But with quick reflexes he was able to avoid the bites and used his back paws to kick him away. On the side lines, Muru rubbed Mluk's back and tried to reassure him, "Don't worry, buddy. I'm here for ya. Everything's gonna be okay!" Mluk tries to look over the root to see, but couldn't get a glimpse of the action.

Balto and the red and white dog keeps up the fight, each jumping forward with a bite and making the other jump back in defense. Balto was able to knock the she-dog back with a headbutt, but she ran and then jumped on the trunk of a tree and came down on him. The attack knocked Balto on his side as the she-dog took the scruff of his neck and started shaking. He quickly used his back paws to kick her in the stomach, making her release him. Then with a headbutt with his head to hers, he caused the she-dog to stumble backwards. Over on the root, Muru started shouting moves to Balto, "Get her! Bit her head!" Balto and the she-dog then reared up on their hindlegs and wrapped their forelegs around their shoulders as they continued to brawl. She tried push him over as he took her ear into his jaws and tugged a little. They soon separated and she tried clawing at his head but only got a little fur on his head. Muru still called attacks as they jumped around each other in a circle, "Go for the jugular! The jugular!" He stopped cheering, turned to Mluk and whispered, "See, I told you she'd come in handy." Then he looked back to the fight.

Balto rushed the red and white she-dog again and tackles her to the ground. But when her back touched the ground, she pressed her back feet against his belly and kicked up with them. This caused the two canines flipped through the air. As they came back down with her on top now, Balto hit the ground and came back up a little, but she pushed him back down with her forepaws on his chest. He gritted his teeth when he hit the ground with a loud thump. The red and white she-dog stood over him, glaring and growling while panting from the fight. But Balto was no longer in a battling mood as he looks up to her, for he remembers that move from when he was younger. Looking up the she-dog in her narrowed eyes, he utters a single word, "Jenna?"

This turns the she-dog's fierce anger turn into confusion and immediately steps backwards off of him and sits down a few feet from the grey furred wolfdog. Balto gets up and comes a little closer, and a smile forms on his face as he asks her, "Is it really you?"

The she-dog is still confused as she tilts her head and asks, "Who are you?" Balto's smile grew bigger as he revealed, "It's me. Balto."

"Balto?" Jenna asks as he looks closer at her. Balto nodded in confirmation, which turned Jenna's confusion into surprise and joy as they both shout, "Whoa!"

The two canine's run up to each other and lightly butted their heads together. They circled each other to see how much the other has changed. Muru, however, drops his jaw in confusion and shock at the turn of events. Balto joyously exclaims, "It's so great to see you!"

Muru jumped off the log and walked towards the two canines. Balto then asks her, "What are you doing here?" Jenna then questions the question by saying, "What do you mean, 'What am I doing here?'? What are you doing here?"

Muru walked to where he was in between them down at their feet, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "HEY! WHAT'S GOIN' ON HERE?!" This made Jenna and Balto looked down to the mouse. Balto then explains, "Muru, this is Jenna. She's my best friend!"

"Friend!" Muru asks in confusion and disbelief with his paws on his hips. Balto smiled as he said, "Yeah!" Then he looked to Mluk as tried to pull himself out and shouted, "Hey, Mluk, come over here!" Mluk finally got himself free, looked back to the others while saying, "Huh?"

"Jenna, this Mluk. Mluk, Jenna." Balto introduced as the polar bear walked over. Mluk, no longer scared, had a smile on his face and bowed as he said, "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"The pleasure's all mine." Jenna said smiling with a slight bow of his head. Muru lost himself in the introductions and said, "How do you do-"

Then he remembered what happened a few minutes ago, "Whoa! Whoa. Time out! Let me get this straight…" He said as he made the time out sign before saying, "You know her." He points to Jenna, making the other two look at her. Then he said, "She knows you." Then he pointed to Balto, making them look at him. "But she wants to eat him." Jenna and Balto look over at Mluk as Muru calmly continued, "And everybody's… okay with this?" Then he jumped up with his arms flailing and shouts, "DID I MISS SOMETHING?!"

Balto lowered his head to the mouse and said, "Relax Muru."

"Wait until everybody finds out you've been here all this time!" Jenna said with a smile, bringing him to her eye level. But then her face falls as she seriously said, "And your mother… what will she think? What will any of them think?" Balto was a little startled by the same line that Steele used on him that horrible day. He then tried to ease it by saying, "She doesn't have to know. Nobody has to know."

"Well of course they do." Jenna said, "Everyone thinks you're dead."

"They do?" Balto asks, becoming curious to what they know. Jenna's face fell when she said, "Yeah. Steele told us about the stampede."

"He did?" Balto said. He found it a little odd about him talking about that day, then asks, "What else did he tell you?"

"What else matters? You're alive." Jenna said with a smile. Then her smile grew as she realized as she said, "And that means… you're the chief."

Balto was stunned by this while Muru didn't believe her for a second, "Chief? Pbbb. My friend, please, have you got your dogs crossed." Mluk suddenly awestruck as he stepped forward and said, "Chief?" Balto was surprised and didn't know what to say as Mluk crawled on his belly to him and said, "Your majesty! I gravel at your feet." Then grabbing Balto's forepaw, he noisily kissed it repeatedly. Balto pulled his paw away and said with an annoyed expression, "Stop it."

"It's not 'gravel'. It's 'grovel'." Muru corrected as he walked up to the polar bear, and pushed against the bear's snout, "And DON'T- she's not the chief." Then he looked up to Balto and asked, "Are ya?"

"No!" Balto quickly said. This shocked Jenna as she questions, "Balto?!"

"No, I'm not the chief." Balto said before getting up. He then said, "Maybe I was gonna be, but…" He walked away from the group, "that was a long time ago."

Muru wasn't believing what he was hearing and questioned the grey furred wolfdog himself, "Let me get this straight. You're the chief? And you never told us?"

"Look, I'm still the same guy." Balto said to reassure him. But Muru said with enthusiasm and a clenched raised fist, "But with power!"

"Could you guys… please excuse us for a few minutes?" Jenna asked politely when she lowered her head with a smile. Muru then taps Mluk on the snout and said, "Hey, whatever she has to say, she can say in front of us." Her smile drops when he looks to the wolfdog and said, "Right, Balto?"

Balto thought for a moment before saying, "Hmm. Maybe you'd better go."

Muru looked up to her with his mouth open. Then raising his arms he said in disbelief, "It starts." He turns and walks off while saying, "You think you know a guy…" Mluk gives a reluctant groan as he follows Muru into the woods.

When he couldn't see them anymore, Balto smiles with a sigh and then said, "Muru and Mluk. You learn to live 'em." He looks over to Jenna, but his smile fades when he sees that she's looking sad. He walked over to her and asks, "What?" When he moves onto her right side, he asks again, "What is it?"

Jenna's head hung as he softly spoke, "It's like your back from the dead." She turns to him and shakes her head as she sadly said, "You don't know how much it will mean to everyone." She looked down with her eyes closed and said, "Or what it means to me."

"Hey, it's okay." Balto said to reassure her. Jenna then moved her head under his chin and said, "I've really missed you."

Balto was a little startled by her bold display of affection, but then smiled as he said, "I've missed you too." Balto then moved his head to where he could rub hers, and she rubbed back lovingly.

Muru and Mluk didn't really leave them as they watched from a good distance from underneath some brush. While Mluk didn't have any problems with this, Muru wasn't too happy about it. Muru scoffed at this and said as the two canines stood up, "I tell you, Mluk, this stinks."

"Oh. Sorry." Mluk apologizes as he moved the bushes off of them.

"Not you. Them!" The mouse gestures as Jenna and Balto walked away. Then with a gesture to each hand as he begrudgingly said, "Him. Her. Alone."

"What would be wrong with that?" Mluk asked down at the mouse. Muru then starts to sing…

 **Muru:** _I can see what's happening_

Mluk: "What?"

 **Muru:** _And they don't have a clue_

Mluk: "Who?"

 **Muru:** _They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line_

 _Our trio's down two_

Mluk in realization: "Oh."

Then in a French accent, Muru sings…

 **Muru:** _Ze sweet caress of twilight_

Muru then moves in front of Mluk…

 **Muru:** _There's magic everywhere_

 _And with all this romantic atmosphere_

He moved to the top of Mluk's head and slid on his belly right between the polar bear's eyes before becoming dramatic, making Mluk start to think…

 **Muru:** _Disaster's in the air_

In a different part of the forest, the sound of a female singer takes over…

 **Female Singer:** _Can you feel the love tonight?_

Balto leads Jenna over a rise and they both climb down some rocks that came to the bottom of a waterfall. Jenna took the lead and Balto followed her down the rise. Both canines start to walk along the stepping stones along the waterfall.

 _The peace the evening brings_

They start to weave through the gaps in the waterfall as Balto followed Jenna.

 _The world for once, in perfect harmony_

 _With all its living things_

Jenna and Balto came to a stop with the grey furred wolfdog looking up into she-dog's eyes. Then the two walk out of the water fall and move to a spot where they could bend and take a drink. And as they lapped up the water, they began to think about what they should say.

 **Balto:** _So many things to tell her_

 _But how to make her see_

Balto stops lapping the water and looks over at Jenna. She noticed and stopped for a moment, but then went back to lapping the water.

 _The truth about my past?_

 _Impossible!_

He turned her head away at the thought, not wanting to tell her why he left.

 _She'd turn away from me_

Jenna then stops drinking and lifts her head up to look at him.

 **Jenna:** _He's holding back, He's hiding_

 _But what, I can't decide_

Both canines look at each other before a smile grows on Balto's face. Then he starts to bound past her. She turns her head to see what he was up to.

 _Why won't he be the chief I know he is_

 _The chief I see inside_

Balto came running back with a vine in his mouth. She moves aside as he jumps and swings over the river. He lets go of the vine and fell into the water with a huge splash.

 **Chorus:** _Can you feel the love tonight?_

 _The peace the evening brings_

Jenna stretches her head out to look in the water for him. She noticed a trail of bubbles coming towards her. When she looks down, Balto shoots up out of the water with a smile and wraps his forelegs around her neck. Then he playfully pulled her into the water with a splash. Jenna resurfaced with a gasp for air as she was startled. She swam back to the rock and pulled herself out of the water. She moved three feet away from the river and pants as she's now dripping wet. When Balto climbs out of the water, Jenna looks to him with a smile and pushes him back in with another splash.

 **Chorus:** _The world for once, in perfect harmony_

 _With all its living things_

Jenna ran through a field with Balto chasing after her as the afternoon started to become twilight. Their running scares a few birds out of the tall grass. They run through some trees and down a small hill. When Jenna stops, she turns and faces Balto on her back legs. He rose too and started to play fight with her. They walked backwards as he wrapped his forepaws around her shoulders and she did the same with him. A few steps backwards, and they tripped and tumbled down a hill.

 _Can you feel the lover tonight_

 _You needn't look too far_

When they reached the bottom of the hill, they land in a pile with Balto on top of Jenna. Laughing at their fun, Balto had his eyes closed as he continued laughing. Jenna stopped laughing as she looked up at him. She wraps her paws around his neck, pulls his head closer and then licked his cheek. Balto became surprised from it as he looks down at the red and white she-dog. Jenna looked up to him with a smile. Balto's surprised face turned into a smile of his own.

 **Chorus:** _Sealing through the night's uncertainties_

Balto lets Jenna get back up and the two look into each other's eyes. Then moving their heads closer, they rub against each other's necks in love.

 _Love is where they are_

Back to where Muru and Mluk sat, both could feel their hearts break from the thought of losing their friend.

 **Muru:** _And if he falls in love tonight_

Mluk sniffs at the thought as Muru turns towards the polar bear…

 _It can be assumed_

The mouse then presses into Mluk's side and starts to cry. Mluk was equally sad as he sang…

 **Mluk:** _His carefree days with are history_

 **Muru and Mluk:** _In short, our pal is doomed_

Both the polar bear and mouse were dramatic in that last verse as they raised their forelegs in an arch. Then looking at each other they start crying their eyes out with the tears shooting out in an arch.

x

 **Author's Note:** And here is the romance chapter. Basically yes, it is a redo from the Jenna and Balto solo fic, but remember that it did come from Wolf Alpha.


	13. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of either Balto or The Lion King, only the story. The characters of Balto belongs to Universal and the characters of The Lion King belongs to Disney. This chapter is gonna be a little bit different than the movie. They only thing that I do own are the OC's of the story. This is just how I did the first time I wrote this story.

x

 **Chapter Eleven: A Message from a Loved One**

Later that evening of falling in love, Balto and Jenna were walking side by side across a log in front of a large waterfall. As they walked across, Balto nearly found it hard to believe that he would fall in love with his best friend. Balto then asked her, "Isn't this a great place?"

"It is very beautiful." Jenna admitted. But she was still troubled and confused about something and asked, "Balto, could I ask you something?"

"Sure." Balto said as they came up to a hammock made of vines. Jenna then said, "This something I can't really understand. You've been alive all this time. Why haven't you come back to Wolf's Peak?"

"Well," Balto said as he tried to think of what to tell her. The wolfdog placed his forepaws in the hammock as he racked his brain. Then he just said, "I felt like I needed to get out on my own." He hopped up into the hammock and laid on his back as it swayed and said with a smile, "And I did, and it's great."

"We've really needed you back home." Jenna said, feeling uncertain about this. Balto scoffed and said, "Nobody needs me."

"Yes, we do." Jenna argued, standing firm as she proudly said, "You're the chief."

"Jenna, we've been through this already. I'm not the chief." Balto said as he leaned forward a little. He leaned back and pointed out, "Steele is."

"Balto," Jenna said as she placed her forepaws on the hammock and told him, "He's letting the wolverine clan take over the Territories."

"What?" Balto asked, completely shocked about all this. Jenna looked down in anger as she said, "Everything's destroyed."

Balto sits up again, even more shocked as she keeps going, "The food is running out, hardly any water." She looked him in the eye and said, "And he's made the wolf side of the pack into slaves for hunting." Jenna was a little hesitant as she told him, "Including your mother."

Balto was very shocked by what she was telling him, but he felt that there wasn't anything he could do. He was brought out of his thoughts when she said, "Balto, if you don't do something soon, everyone back home will starve."

Balto turned in the hammock and regretfully said, "I can't go back."

"What? Why?" Jenna questioned as he hopped out of the hammock. Balto moved a few feet away before saying, "You wouldn't understand."

"What wouldn't I understand?" Jenna asked as she didn't know why he was being so elusive about the subject. Balto shook his head and said, "No, no, no. It doesn't matter. Hakuna Matata."

"What?" Jenna asked as she didn't understand what he had just said. Balto walked back to her and explained, "Hakuna Matata. It's something I learned out here." He tried to play it cool by walking past her as he said, "Look, sometimes bad things happen…"

"Balto…" Jenna said as she couldn't believe what he was saying. But Balto continued, "and there isn't anything you can do about it. So why bother."

"Because it's your responsibility." Jenna reminded him while jumping off the log and walked along the right side of him. Jenna couldn't believe how he was willing to throw everything away. Balto stopped In frustration and then pointed out, "Oh, yeah? Well, what about you? You left."

"I left to find help." Jenna angrily pointed out. And then she reminded him, "And I found you, didn't I." Her feature's softened as she pleaded, 'Don't you understand? You're our only hope."

Balto seemed to think for a second before saying, "Sorry. I can't help you."

"What's happened to you?" Jenna questioned as he didn't like this new Balto, "You aren't the same Balto I remember."

"You're right. I'm not. I'm just the half-breed that causes trouble, huh?" Balto angrily said. Then he leaned a little closer and asked, "Now are you satisfied?"

"No." Jenna said as he started to get angry as well, "Just disappointed to see who you've become." Then she quirked a brow and said, "And being a half-breed has anything to do with this."

"You know, you're starting to sound like my step-father." Balto said and hopped the log. He started to walk away when Jenna turned after him and said, "Good. At least one of us does."

That stopped Balto in his tracks as he couldn't believe that she had just said that to him. His anger rose as he sharply turned back to her and shouted, "Listen!" The wolfdog stomped over to her and questioned, "You think that you can just show up and tell me how to live my life?" He pointed out, "YOU don't even know what I've been through!"

Then he turned and stomped off into the forest. It really hurt Jenna as she watched him go. She then tried to reason, "I would if you would just tell me."

"Forget it!" Balto shouted back. Fed up with him, Jenna shouted back, "Fine!"

The red and white husky looked away in frustration and anger.

Balto had run through the forest and came out to an open field and walked deep into it. When he felt he had come far enough, the wolfdog started to pace in the grass as he thought about what Jenna had said. He huffed before saying, "She's wrong. I can't go back. They wouldn't even have anything to do with me." His pace slowed as he thought out loud, "What would it prove anyway? It wouldn't change anything. His anger started to subside and his face softened as he thought about Nava, but still fought against going back by looking up into the sky, "You can't change the past."

Balto stopped pacing and remembered what Nava had told him a long time ago. With hurt and confusion in his heart, Balto shouted up into the starry sky, "You said that you'd both would always be there for me." But when there was no sign, no answer from either of them, he hung his head in shame as he remembered what he did, "But you're not." His voice cracked from sadness as he said, "And it's because of me. You'd still be alive if it weren't for me. It's my fault. It's all my fault."

Then sitting on the ground with his shoulders hunched, the wolfdog began to sob about Nava's death. Balto sat in the clearing sobbing when his ears perked up to the sound of someone chanting…

 **Boris:** _Asante sana,_

 _squash banana_

Up in one of the shorter trees, a white goose stood on a limb and shook it as he chanted…

 _We, we nugu,_

 _imi mi apana_

 _Asante sana,_

 _squash banana_

 _We, we nugu,_

 _imi mi apana_

Balto turned his head back to the tree with an irritated look. He decided to move to another spot away from the goose. Boris jumped to the next limb and hung on to it with his wings and let loose a chuckle at the sight of the prince. He smiled as he watched Balto walk through the field. The wolfdog strolled through the tall grass with his head hanging again. He came by a river that had a log fallen across it and walked out onto it. When he reached the middle of the log, he laid down and stared down at his reflection in the water. He sighed in sadness before a rock hits his reflection. Balto looks up to a tree and sees the goose again as he starts to chant again…

 **Boris:** _Asante sana,_

 _squash banana_

 _We, we nugu,_

 _imi mi apana_

The goose chanted as he started to swing on a branch. This annoyed Balto and he asked, "Come on, will you please cut it out?"

"Can't cut it out." Boris says as Balto gets up and leaves again. The goose drops down to the ground, picks up his staff and jokes, "It'll grow right back!"

The goose broke out into laughter as he followed Balto back into the field. As he caught up to him and walked Balto's side, the wolfdog commented, "Creepy little goose." Then he snapped, "Could you stop following me?" He turned to the bird and asked, "Who are you?"

"The question is, who…" Boris said as he got closer to the canine and turned his head to where he looked at Balto upside down and back asked, "are you?"

Balto opened his mouth to tell him, but the words were long lost on him as he sighed, "I thought I knew." He turned his head away and thought, "Now I'm not exactly so sure."

"Well, I know who you are." Boris said and grabbed his ear with a wing. He pulled the wolfdog closer and said, "Shh. Come closer. It's a secret."

Balto leaned a little closer to hear what he had to say. But what he got was an earful of…

 **Boris:** _Asante sana,_

 _squash banana_

 _We, we nugu,_

 _imi mi apana_

Balto broke away from the goose, really irritated that he wasn't telling him anything that he wanted to know. Then with a growl he asked, "Enough of that! What does that even supposed to mean?"

"It means you are a goose," Boris said and points to the wolfdog. A big smile was on the goose's face as he finished, "and I am not."

Balto looked at the goose with an unamused look before walking off and commenting, "I think that you're a little confused."

As he took a few steps, Boris somehow appeared in front of him and pressed his feathered finger against the wolfdog's snout and said, "Wrong!" This made Balto to become annoyed while he pointed out, "I'm not the one who's confused here. You don't even know who you are. Who you are supposed to be."

"Oh," Balto said with an eyeroll. He moved around the goose and sarcastically asked, "and I suppose you do know?"

"Sure do." Boris said with a smirk. Then he waved his staff and said, "You are the son of Togo and the step-son of Nava."

This caused Balto stop at the mention of both his loved ones. He looked back to the goose, only to find him turned and about to take off. Boris gave a wave and said, "Bye."

Without another word, the goose took off running. Wanting to now more, Balto shouted after him, "Hey, wait a moment."

The wolfdog raced after the goose. He followed him through the field, back across the log and up a small hill. He found the shaman goose sitting on a rock in the lotus position and had his eyes closed. Panting as he walked up right next to him, Balto looked to him and asked, "You knew my father and step-father?"

"Correction," Boris said without opening his eyes, "I know both your father and step-father."

Balto hung his head upon thinking that the goose didn't know. Then he said, "I really hat to tell you this," Boris opened his eyes as the wolfdog said, "But they both died a long time ago."

"Nope." Boris said with a knowing smirk and held a feathered index finger high. He glides off the rock while he shouted, "Wrong again!"

Balto turned his head as the shaman goose flapped over to a section of the forest where the tree roots stood tall and were all over the place. Boris laughed as he stopped in front of the roots and looked back and excitedly said, "They are both alive, and one of them really wants to speak with you." He gestured for Balto to come and said, "You follow old Boris. He knows the way. Come on!"

Boris ran in and disappeared into the undergrowth. Balto ran up to the undergrowth and looked in to see where the bird went. Before following the shaman in, Balto looked back to part of the forest where his friends were and ducked his head as he went in. As he tried to follow after the shaman goose, he found it difficult as he climbed over some roots that were short enough and under when they were the opposite. He came to an opening and looked up to see Boris high up on a branch. He warned, "Don't dawdle." Then with a wave of his wing he shouted, "Hurry up!"

The shaman goose started hopping from branch to branch. Balto started following after him as he climbed out of a hole in the roots.

"Hey, wait! Wait!" Balto cried out as he was finding it difficult to keep up. Boris stopped to wait for the wolfdog. Slightly wanting Balto to see he shouted down to the canine, "Come on. Come on!"

Balto was able to find a better path and was able to keep up with the shaman goose better as they went along. Balto ran down on a lower level of the forest and Boris hopped within the trees, he questioned, "Would you please slow down?"

He kept running until he fell off a small steep slope. He fell to the ground but quickly back up as Boris let loose a laugh. Balto had to hold his head down when he hit a branch and stepped carefully when he saw roots. When he ran through a tangle of vines, Balto powered through and kept going. Balto looked up to see Boris swinging from one branch to the other as he raced behind the goose. When he came to an opening, Boris suddenly appeared with an outstretched feathered hand and said, "Stop!"

Balto slid to stop himself and came sliding up just a few inches from the feathers. Boris then brought his wing back, placed a feathery finger up to his lips, shushed him and hopped over to a patch of tall grass. Grabbing some of the tall blades, he pulled them back and gestured to come with his staff with a whisper, "Look down there."

Balto was a little hesitant at first, but still stepped over to the tall grass. When he came up next to the goose, he looked to the shaman before looking down the slope. The wolfdog then stepped down the rise and came to a small ledge over a pond. He slowly looked over the edge and hopped to see the faces of those he considered to be both his fathers. But all he saw was him looking down at a reflection of himself in the water. Feeling annoyed, he sat down and said, "That isn't my father Togo, or my step-father Nava. It's just my reflection."

"No." Boris said as he wrapped a wing around the wolfdog's shoulders. Then moving his free wing over the pond he said, "You must look harder."

Balto moved to look back down in the water and looked much closer at the surface. He watched in amazement as the water started to ripple and his face turned into a new one. The image of a half of both his father's appeared as Boris said, "You see. They both live in you."

Balto didn't know what to say as he looked at the reflection. He didn't notice it at first, but the night sky had suddenly became dark and cloudy as a voice said from above, "Balto."

Having heard the voice, but it sounded more like only his step-father as he looked up and asked, "Nava?"

Balto looked up to see a giant cloud roll over. And walking through the cloud was the shape of a wolf. The wolf's form became more distinguished as Nava looked down at him. Then he sounded disappointed as he said, "Balto, you have forgotten us."

"No." Balto said and shook his head, thinking that it wasn't true, "How could I forget either of you."

"You have forgotten who you are," Nava said as the clouds started to swirl around him, "and so you have forgotten both of us." Then his face became stern as he told his adopted son, "Look inside yourself, Balto. You are more than what you have become." His gaze became more firm as he said, "You must take you place in the circle of life."

"How can I go back? I just cause trouble." Balto questioned, feeling as though it were impossible. Then he sounded as if he had completely given up by saying, "I'm not the wolfdog I used to be."

"Remember who you are." Nava told him as his apparition looked more like himself. Then he stated, "Like I told you that night, I have grown to love you as if you were my own son. And through your father's heritage and my teachings, you are the one true chief."

Balto looked up to his step-father as tears welled up in his eyes. Nava's voice started to fade as his spirit retreated, "Remember who you are."

"No!" Balto shouted and raced after the could. He became sad at the thought, "Please, Nava, don't leave me!"

"Remember." Was all that Nava said as he faded. Balto continued to run after him and called out, "Father!"

"Remember!" Nava said again. Balto came to a stop on top of a hill and cried out, "Don't leave me."

"Remember." Nava said one last time before the skies became silent again. Balto looked up to the stars as the sky lightened up again. Balto sat down as a gust of wind blew through the tall grass. An excited Boris came up next to him and said with a laugh, "What was that? Ha, ha!

"The weather." He said with a sputter. Then he looked to the wolfdog and asked, "Very peculiar, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it was." Balto agreed. He looked about the sky and noticed, "It looks like the winds are changing."

"Ahh, change is good." Boris said while he placed his wing to his chin. Balto was in full agreement, even though he shook his head as he said, "Yeah, but it's never easy." He thought about what needed to be done, "I know what I have to do, but going back means that I'll have to face my past."

Then he looked away and said in shame, "I've been running away from it for so long."

Then with out warning, Boris jumped a little and slammed his staff against the wolfdog's head. He yelped in pain as he held a paw on the spot and questioned, "Ow! Jeez! What was that for?"

"It does not matter." Boris said with a shrug. Then he stated, "It's all in past."

"Yeah," Balto said as he rubbed his sore head. He brought his paw down to see if there was anything on it and said, "but it still hurts."

"Ah, yes," Boris said and came closer placed a comforting wing on his shoulder. Then he sympathetically said, "the past can hurt." Boris then smirked and said, "But the way that I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it."

He tried to take another swing at the wolfdog, but this time Balto was able to duck under the staff. Boris laughed and questioned the prince, "Ah, ha! You see? So what are you going to do now?"

"Well, first," Balto said with a smirk. Boris's face fell when he said, "I'm gonna take away your stick."

"No, no, no! Not the stick!" The shaman goose shouted as he grabbed the piece of wood with his teeth. Balto threw it a few feet away and smirked as he walked past Boris as the goose honked in fear and ran to retrieve it. But when he picked it up and looked back he saw the wolfdog running and questioned, "Hey! Where are you going?!"

"I'm going back!" Balto shouted over his shoulder. Balto was running towards the mountains as he remembered the way back home. Boris waved a wing and shouted, "Good! Go on! Get out of here!"

As the wolfdog shrank in the distance, the shaman goose shouted, "Whoo! Ha, ha, ha!" Then holding his arms out wide he shouts, "Whoooo!" Then holding his staff high above his head with both wings he shouted, "Whoooo!"

The next morning in Hakuna Matata forest, it was a little foggy as both Muru and Mluk were sound asleep in a nest underneath a tree with its roots strongly standing. Mluk was asleep on his back while Muru slept on his belly. Mluk was dreaming of food as he kicked in his sleep and said, "Grubs! Grubs!"

A figure slowly approached through the mists as Jenna walked up to them. Jenna carefully walked up to the sleeping mouse. She gently tapped the mouse to wake him and quietly said, "Hey. Hey, wake up!"

Muru stirred and lifted his head while smacking his lips. He turned towards Jenna and saw the face of a predator really close. This caused Muru to start screaming real loudly. This also caused Mluk to wake up and start screaming as well. Jenna then shouted as she tried to calm them down, "It's okay! Whoa, whoa! It's okay! It's me!"

They both stopped screaming, though it looked as if Mluk were about to have a heart attack while Muru walked along the polar bear's belly. He hopped down on a root and told her, "Don't ever do that again." He placed a hand on his head and he commented, "Carnivores! Sheesh!"

Jenna, though a little ticked off by the comment, chose to ignore it. She took in a deep breath before asking, "Have either one of you seen Balto?"

"I thought he was with you." Muru said as he looked up to her, now confused. Jenna became worried as she said, "He was, but now I can't find him anywhere in the forest. Where could he have gone?"

The sound of laughter brought their attention back to them. The three walked out from underneath the roots and looked up into the tree. There they saw Boris sitting up in the branches and holding a branch as he said, "You won't be finding the wolfdog here!" He laughed before placing a wing over his heart, he then proudly said, "The chief has returned."

"I can't believe it." Jenna said as a smile formed on her face. She really brightened up as he looked to mouse and polar bear and said with a smile, "He's gone back!"

"Gone back?" Muru asked as he hopped off the root. Neither he nor the polar bear knew what was going on. He looked up to the goose and asked, "What do you mean?"

When they all looked back up to the goose in the tree, they saw that Boris had disappeared. This annoyed Muru as he questioned, "Hey, what's goin' on here?" Then gesturing to where the shaman goose was he asked, "Who was the Russian goose?"

"Balto's gone back to challenge Steele." Jenna excitedly said. Muru was still confused and asked, "Who?"

"Steele." Jenna said, starting to feel a little frustrated. Mluk then asked, "Who's the Man of Steel?"

"No, no, he's Balto's uncle," Jenna tried to explain. Then she added, "in some way."

"The goose is his uncle?" Muru asked, still not understanding. Jenna leaned down and said, "No!" She took a deep breath and properly said, "Balto's gone back to challenge his uncle to take back his place as Chief of the Territories."

"Oh!" Both Muru and Mluk said as they finally realized what she was saying. Turning she gestured her head and said, "Come on, he's going to need our help."

"We're right behind ya!" Mluk shouted as Muru jumped onto his head. Muru raised his paws and shouted, "We're coming to help you, Balto!"

The three ran after their friend with determined faces as they knew that this wouldn't be easy.

x

 **Author's Note:** I know that that chapter is a really different than what happened in the movie. I didn't add Balto's father into the starry ghost thing because I felt that since Balto had more of a stronger connection with Nava. But I did decide to put Togo in the part where Balto looks at his reflection. It's kind of like how that two halves thing is done in the second. Anyways, I'll see you all for the next chapter.


	14. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of either Balto or The Lion King, only the story. The characters of Balto belongs to Universal and the characters of The Lion King belongs to Disney. This chapter is gonna be a little bit different than the movie. They only thing that I do own are the OC's of the story. This is just how I did the first time I wrote this story.

x

 **Chapter Twelve: The Battle for the Territories**

Balto quickly ran through the mountains and forests to get back to the Territories as fast as he could. He could feel his sled dog heritage and his wolf stamina coursing through his body as he ran. His foot crushed a dead and withering limb as he stepped back in the once glorious Territories in a long time. Looking around, he stared in horror at all the death and desolation. Plants were withering all over the place and skeletons of animals that weren't just prey. There were a few predator skeletons laying about as well. Moving to the top of a grassless hill he had a greater view of his beloved home. Balto turned his head as he looked about the destroyed land. His gaze stops on Wolf's Peak and sees that it was in just as horrible shape as everything else. The wolfdog's expression turns into anger at the one who did this and growled, "Steele."

"Balto, wait up!" A feminine voice shouted from behind him. Turning to look back, he sees Jenna running up to him. She stands a few feet back and asked, "It's awful, isn't it?"

"I didn't want to believe you." Balto said as he could see that she was right. Jenna walked up beside him and asked, "What made you decided to come back?"

Balto half-smiled as he explained, "I finally had some sense knocked into me." He gestured to his head when he said, "And I've got the bump to prove it." He became serious when he turned to Wolf's Peak and said, "Besides this is my land to protect. If I don't fight for it, who will?"

"I will." Jenna courageously said as she came closer beside him. Balto then pointed out, "It's gonna be dangerous."

"Danger? Ha!" Jenna joked as she said what he had said when they were younger, "I laugh in the face of danger. Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

"I ain't seeing nothing funny about this." Muru said with his paws on his hips as he and Mluk joined them. Balto was surprised to see them here and asks, "Muru? Mluk? What are you two doing here?"

"At your service, my liege." Mluk said with a bow on one foreleg.

"Uh." Muru groaned as he looked about the destroyed landscape, "We're gonna fight your uncle… for this?"

"Yes, Muru. This is my home." Balto proudly said. He chuckled and said, "It always hasn't looked like this."

"And it can be great again." Jenna added.

"Huh. Talk about your fixer-upper." Muru commented to himself. But changing his attitude he said, "Well Balto, if it's important to you, we're with you to the end."

Balto smiles in appreciation at their courage. All four of them looked towards Wolf's Peak as thundering storm clouds rolled over the land. They then moved towards their destinies.

x

The group of four had arrived at Wolf's Peak as the sun started to set. They found a small problem on the way; getting past all the wolverines as they stood between them and Steele. Balto, Jenna, Mluk, through stealth and Muru crept behind a log. When they were completely concealed they peeked over the log to see what they were up against. They could see that the wolverines were all over the place, either gnawing on bones or sleeping. Getting past them would not be easy. Muru shuddered and then looked up as he said, "Wolverines. I hate wolverines." Then he whispered to Balto on what to do, "So what exactly is your plan for getting past all of them?"

"Live bait." Balto whispered back. Muru was in it, "Good." But then he realized who was going to have to bit it, but complained while keeping it down, "Hey!"

"Come on, Muru. You and Mluk need to create a diversion for us." Balto told them.

"What do you want me to do?" Muru quietly questioned. Then he was sarcastic when he asked, "Dress in drag and do the hula?!"

Three minutes later…

A drumming sound drew the closest wolverines attention as they raised their heads. They looked behind them and see Muru dressed in a hula outfit. Mluk was behind him, lying down on a bed of leaves with strangely an apple in his mouth. Muru then starts to sing and dance…

 **Muru:** _Luau!_

 _If you're hungry for a hunk of fat juicy meat_

 _Eat my buddy Mluk here because he's such a treat_

He jumped on Mluk's back for the next part…

 _Come on down and dine_

 _On this tasty bear_

 _All you have to do is get in line_

While the wolverines, who's tongues were hanging out, were starting to prowl close the duo, Balto and Jenna were sneaking behind them. Some of the wolverines were snarling with hunger as they got closer. Muru kept up the act by raising his hands above his head…

 **Muru:** _Are you achin'_

 **Mluk:** _Yup, yup, yup!_

 **Muru:** _For some bacon?_

 **Mluk:** _Yup, yup, yup!_

 **Muru:** _He's a big bear_

 **Mluk:** _Yup, yup!_

 **Muru:** _You could be a big bear too!_

 **Muru and Mluk:** _Oy!_

The two then noticed that the wolverines were really close. Both mouse and polar bear screamed in terror and ran for their lives. The wolverines growled really loud as they chased them down the path. Balto and Jenna moved further towards the rock formation and keep to the shadows. Looking around they see even more wolverines. Balto then turned to Jenna and said, "Jenna, you find my mother and rally the entire pack." He sounded serious as he said, "I'm going to look for Steele."

She nodded and they split up. Balto carefully made his way up the rock formation. He soon found himself on a path connecting to the ledge. He creeps along the rocks and soon sees Steele standing next to the ledge of Wolf's Peak. He was about to get closer when…

"Aniu!" Steele shouts out over the area. The call echoes as a surprised Balto looks down to the grounds where all the wolverines were. He soon spots a white shape moving through a sea of red. Balto sees his mother as she walked through a path through the wolverines. They growled and snapped at her heels, but all she did was glance at them before making her way up the stone steps. Balto looks to her with a saddened face as she makes it to the top. When she steps up to him, Aniu can see that Steele isn't pleased about something. He paces in front of her as she calmly asks with her eyes closed and head held high, "Yes, Steele?"

"Where are the wolf hunting parties?" Steele growled as he continued pacing. He then accused, "They're not doing their jobs. And my patience with you lobos is wearing thin. Plus, you didn't find Jenna."

"Steele, there is no more food. All of the herds have moved on. And with them all the other predator clans. And I'm not sure where Jenna could be." Aniu told him. But Steele, not convinced, shook his head once, "No. You slaves just aren't looking hard enough."

"It's over. There is nothing left within the Territories." Aniu said with her eyes closed. She opened them as she suggests, "We have but one choice left. We must leave Wolf's Peak and the lands surrounding it."

"We're not going anywhere." Steele snarled at her. Aniu then argued with him, "Then you have sentenced all of us death!"

"Then so be it." Steele spat in her face. Aniu, now truly angered and disgusted by his actions, said, "You can't do that! I get that you don't like us wolves, but what about the dog side of the pack?"

"I'm the chief and they are strong." Steele said as he stood as regally as he could, "I'm in charge and I can do whatever I want. Though you should already know that by now, hunting slave."

Aniu couldn't stand it anymore and angrily said, "If you were half the chief Nava and Togo were-"

"I am ten times the chief that fool and lobo were." Steele angrily snarled as he strikes Aniu in the face. The white wolf rolls across the ground and comes to a stop on her side. Balto stands on the rocks, growling in anger for that. Steele gasps when he sees him. The wolfdog jumps down and rushes to his mother. Mistaking his pelt for Togo's he said, "Togo? No. You're dead."

Balto, ignoring the black and white malamute for a moment, leaned his head down and nudged Aniu's head to wake her up. She groans as she stirs, and when she looks up she thinks that she's seeing, "Togo? Or could it be-?"

Balto, with a small smile, shook his head and said, "No. It's me." Aniu then recognized her son and happily said, "Balto, you're alive." Her happiness turned into confusion as she asks, "How can that be?"

"It doesn't matter." Balto tells her with a shake of his head. He leaned down and nuzzled her as he said, "I'm home."

Steele then recognizes him, 'Balto? Balto!" The black and white malamute fakes his happiness for a moment, "I'm a little surprised to see you…" His face turned into a scowl as he looks up and said, "alive."

Dusk, Sunrise and Ed all loudly gulped in fear as they were busted. Balto walks up to Steele menacingly and angrily questioned, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you apart?"

Aniu watched him with a sense of pride.

Steele started to back up as Balto came closer, and tried to sound as sincere as he could when he said, "Oh, Balto, you need to understand. The pressures of being chief and watching over thing…" He stopped when he was literally backed into a wall. But Balto, knowing that he needed to take it from his uncle, said, "Are no longer yours. Step down, Steele."

Steele nervously laughed and he said, "Oh, oh, heh… Well, I would, naturally, ha- however, there is one small problem." The black and white malamute points up above him with a claw, "You see those guys?" Balto looked up and after a flash of lightning saw a giant horde of wolverines staring back down at him.

"They think I'M chief. Steele said while placing a paw on his chest.

"Well, we don't." A voice behind them said. Both canines look over to see that Jenna had gathered the entire pack, and were standing in opposition to Steele. One dog and one wolf helped Aniu back onto her feet. Jenna then said, "Balto is the rightful chief."

"The choice is yours, Steele." Balto said as he moved in front of the black and white malamute, "Either you step down or fight."

"Oh, must it all end with violence?" Steele asks as he stands back up. He began to plan as he moved away from the wolfdog. He has a sad face as he said, "I would really hate to be responsible for the death of a family or pack member." He looks back to Balto as he walked up to the pack and asks, "Wouldn't you agree, Balto?"

Balto stood firm as he said, "That's not gonna work, Steele. I've put the past behind me."

"Hmm. But what about your faithful subjects?" The black and white malamute asks as he stands before the pack. He looked at them as he questions, "Have they put it behind them?"

This makes the canines within the pack curious as Jenna asks him, "Balto, what is he talking about?"

"Ah! So you haven't told them your little secret." Steele said with a smirk as starts to circle around the wolfdog, earning a glare from Balto. Steele then walks back to the pack as everyone's attention on him when he says, "Well, Balto, now's your chance to let them know." He spoke loudly when he said, "Tell them who is responsible, for Nava's death!"

The statement brings shock to the pack as they look from Steele to Balto. As they waited for an answer for him, Balto is hesitant, but works up the nerve and steps forward to say, "I am."

All the dogs and wolves were shocked to hear this, especially Jenna and Aniu. The white wolf walks up to her son and asks, "It's not true." Balto takes a step back as she came closer and her voice cracked, "Tell me that it isn't true."

"It's true." Balto says as he hangs his head in shame. But his shame changes to shock when Steele accuses, "You see! He admits it!" Steele then gave the wolfdog a cold glare as lightning crashes behind him, "Murderer!"

"No." Balto tried to defend himself, "It was an accident."

"If it weren't for you, Nava would still be alive." Steele said as he walked around the wolfdog in circles, "It's your fault that he's dead. Are you gonna deny it?"

"No." Balto said as he still felt the guilt. Steele then severely said, "Then… you are… guilty!"

"No. I'm not a murderer!" Balto said as he knew that he didn't kill Nava himself. Another flash of lightning, and Steele, along with the horde of wolverines, were making Balto back up on the ledge of Wolf's Peak. Steele then made Balto feel worse by saying, "Oh look, Balto, you're in trouble again. But this time, Step-daddy Nava ain't here to save you." The black and white malamute got in the wolfdog's face as he said, "And now everyone… KNOWS… WHY!"

On the last word Steele jerked his head forward and in turn it made Balto slip over the edge of the ledge. The wolfdog was able to grab hold of the rocky surface with his claws as Jenna cried out in fear, "Balto!"

A bolt of lightning strikes some brush underneath the ledge, and the dried brush was set ablaze. While trying to hold on, Balto tries to climb back up. But Steele sat down in front of him, so that made it difficult. Steele then looks as if he has seen the situation before, "Now this is starting to look familiar. Where have I seen this sort of thing before? Let me think. Hmm… Hmm…" Balto struggled to hold on as Steele placed a paw to his muzzle as he thought. Steele then has a look of surprise on his face before it went dark, "Oh yeah, that's right. I remember now. This just how dear step-daddy Nava looked before he died."

Balto suddenly slips a little more, but Steele suddenly lunges forward and catches Balto's paws with his claws. Balto winced from the pain in his paws, but he looked up to Steele as the black and white malamute leaned his head forward and said, "And here's a little secret of MY own." He leaned his head to Balto's left ear and whispered, "I'm the one who killed by Nava and your birth father, Togo."

Balto's eyes widened as he now knew the truth. And though he may have never known his birth father, it still upset him. But he thought back to that day when he watched Nava fall back into the stampede. All the time he had been carrying the guilt from Nava's death, but it wasn't even his fault as he screamed with his past self, "NO!"

With a burst of energy and an angry snarl, Balto was able to climb back and tackled Steele onto his back. Balto had his paws the black and malamute's shoulders as he loudly growled, "Murderer!"

This shocked the pack while the wolverines glared at the wolfdog. Steele pleaded for his life, "No, Balto, please." Then he looked to the pack and saw the Nikki, Kaltag and Star and shouted, "My packmates help me!"

But they didn't move as they were feeling conflicted about it all.

"Tell everyone the truth!" Balto growled down at him, making Steele look back up to the wolfdog on top of him. Steele nervously laughs and said, "T-T-The truth? But the truth is in the eye of the be-gawk!" He was cut off when Balto placed his paw against Steele's throat and applied some pressure, "All right!" Balto put a little more pressure and he shouted, "All right!" He glared at the wolfdog and quietly said, "I did it."

"So they can here you." Balto ordered as he kept his paws to the malamute's throat. Steele continued to glare as he loudly shouts, "I killed both Nava and Togo!"

The pack then rushes to aid Balto as the wolverine clan charges at them. The red furred fiends knock Balto down like a crimson wave. The wolfdog yelps in pain as they start to bite and claw at him. But they don't get a chance to end it as the pack quickly rushes in. Jenna knocks one of the wolverines away with her paw.

"Eee-yeah!" Muru and Mluk yell as they rushed into the fray. The mouse rides on the polar bears back as they crash through the wolverines. As they plowed through them, Muru shouted as they went by, "Excuse me! Pardon me! Coming through. Whoo!"

In the middle of the battle, Muru jumps off of Mluk's back and spin-kicks one of the wolverines in the face while Mluk donkey kicks another coming at them. The two split up to help in the battle. While Mluk reared up and swatted away a trio of the enemy, Muru hopped up on one's back. The wolverine looked back as Muru said, "Know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna go bite on your ear!"

Muru then leapt and grabbed onto the ear and bit down on it. The wolverine then started screaming like a girl as he ran off. Muru jumped off before he hits a stone wall. He chuckled to himself as he ran off from the unconscious creature.

Balto jumped over one wolverine as two chased after him. He turned and swatted one away before grabbing the second one in his teeth. Balto threw the wolverine away and watched for any others. Unbeknown to him, a third wolverine was creeping up on him. When Balto wasn't looking, the wolverine pounced on his back from behind. Balto tried to shake the fiend off, but the wolverine bit at his neck. Balto growled in pain, but luckily for him a certain feathered goose was looking out for him as Boris whacked the wolverine in the head with his staff. Balto looks up to see Boris holding his staff above his head and yelling before jumping down.

Boris landed among five wolverines and assumes a fighters stance. The wolverines then came at him one by one. A wolverine came at him from behind him, but Boris jumped up with a back flip while striking it in the back of the head. The wolverine fell on its face and slid forward away. Then he made Kung Fu noises as he whacked one while back kicking another. Then he did a spin kick to a wolverine while another one tried to come in from the side. But Boris took his staff in both hands before using the broad side to jab it in the throat. It fell before another wolverine rushed at him. The shaman goose uses the back end of his staff for another throat jab. Boris relaxed his guard when it appeared that there were no more enemies. But somehow knowing, Boris struck a wolverine in the face when it tried to come up behind him.

Jenna had knocked a wolverine away when she was attacked from behind. She yelped in pain before rolling onto her side. The tactic worked and her attacker released her. The red and white husky looked back to see Dusk standing there with a snarl. Dusk then mocked, "You gonna run away again, pup?"

"I've been waiting a long time for this." Jenna growled. The two enemies then rushed at each other. Jenna dodged a swipe from the wolverine's claws as she knocks Dusk away with her head. The wolverine rolled across the ground before standing back up with a growl. The wolverine then charged again at her, but Jenna jumped over her and grabbed Dusk by the scruff. With a mighty heave she tossed her away. Jenna didn't have time to celebrate as another wolverine came at her. The red and white husky growled and leapt at the wolverine with a snarl.

As the pack drove most of the wolverines off of Wolf's Peak, Muru was currently scampering for his life as he was being chased by Dusk and Sunrise. He runs into the cavern where Paddy was still stuck within the ribcage. Paddy sees him coming and shouted, "Let me out! Let me out!"

"Let me in! Let me in!" Muru counters as he runs through the bones and cowers next to the yellow duck. Both wolverines moved towards the cage, licking their lips as they were close to a meal. Muru clasped his paws together and pleaded, "Ple-he-hease don't eat me."

"Problem?" A voice from outside the cave said. Dusk and Sunrise turned and saw Mluk standing at the entrance. Sunrise then asked, "Hey, who's the bear?"

"You talking to me?" Mluk asked with a serious face.

"Uh oh. He called him a bear." Muru warned to Dusk. The wolverine only gave the mouse a sideways glance as she didn't understand.

"Are you talking to me?!" Mluk asked again, his voice raising.

"Shouldn't have done that." Muru pointed out with a shake of his head.

"ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?!" Mluk shouted really loudly.

"Now they're in for it!" Muru shouted with a roll of his eyes.

"They CALL me, MISTER BEAR!" Mluk shouted at them. Then he threw his head back and shouted at the top of his lungs before charging at the two wolverines. Dusk and Sunrise's faces dropped as he ran at them at full speed. Outside the cave, Ed could see and hear the sounds of pain from his friends as the bear let out a whole can of butt whoopin' on them. The savage beating came to an end when both Dusk and Sunrise came running whimpering out. They bowled into their friend as they tried to get away. It took them a second to untangle themselves before running away. Mluk, with Muru on his head, came running out of the cave and shouted, "Go on, ya yellow bellies!"

A freed Paddy flew out of the cave and cheered with them.

The battle and fire still raged as Balto runs around, looking for Steele. Turning his head at just the right moment, a flash of lightning revealed the malamute trying to escape on a path around Wolf's Peak. Steele looks back and gasps in shock when he had been found out. Growling, the wolfdog gives chase to the murderer. Steele runs all the way to a section of Wolf's Peak and jumps through a wall of flames but had to slide to stop himself from going over the edge of a sheer drop. He looked down as some rocks tumbled down before looking back to see Balto jumping through the flames after him. Balto landed on all fours and looks at the black and white malamute with a glare. Steele stood frozen in fear as Balto starts to come closer. Balto, with a truly angry stare, says in a low but still audible voice, "Murderer."

"Balto, Balto. Please." Steele tried to plead. He sounded scared as he said, "Please, be merciful. I ask you."

"You don't deserve to live." Balto angrily said as he came closer. Steele tried to play on his good side, "But Balto, I am… uh, family." He chuckled, trying to make the wolfdog stop. Seeing as how it wasn't working, he tried something else by saying, "It's the wolverines who are the real enemy."

As he had said that, Dusk, Sunrise and Ed just happened to be on the other side of the flames. Feeling betrayed they slowly backed away growling as he said, "It was their fault- It was completely their idea."

Balto wasn't swayed as he angrily questioned, "Why should I believe anything that you say?" Steele lowers himself onto his belly as Balto gets in his face and points out, "Everything you ever told me is a lie. Not to mention that you killed both Nava and my birth father, who treated you like a brother. And you enslaved my mother's side of the pack."

"What are you gonna do?" Steele asks in fear. He smiles as he said, "You wouldn't kill your own Uncle?"

"No, Steele." Balto said with a grim frown. The wolfdog decided to be the bigger dog and not stoop to his uncle's level, "I'm nothing like you."

Steele feels relief to this and says, "Oh, Balto, I thanks. You are really something, I gotta admit. You're a great guy." The black and white malamute stood up as he thinks that he still has a chance to get out of this, "And I'll make it all up to you. I promise. How can I, uh, prove myself to you?" He swiped his paw as he said, "Just tell me. I mean, anything."

"Run." Balto growled with narrowed eyes. Steele's face fell as Balto says the same thing he once told the wolfdog as a pup, "Run away, Steele. And never come back."

Steele was a little hesitant at first, but nods his head and says, "Yes." He then slinks past Balto while saying, "Of course." Balto watches him go with a glare as the black and white malamute moves past him. Stops a few feet away as he said, "As you wish.." His face turns into an angry scowl as he looks down to a pile of smoldering ashes and growled, "… you MANGY MONGREL!"

Then with a swipe of his paw, he kicked the ashes into Balto's face. Balto cried out in pain and tried to wipe the ashes off of his face. But his dilemma became an opportunity for Steele as he lunged at him with a growl. Steele tackled the wolfdog to the ground from the side, but he ended up rolling over the wolfdog. As the two get back up, Steele wraps his forelegs around Balto's neck and bit down on the back of his neck with a growl. Balto winced in pain before trying to throw the older dog off of him. The wolfdog tried rolling over to dislodge him. It worked only for a moment, but when he and Steele get back up, the malamute knocks the wolfdog flat on his back. Steele stood over the wolfdog with his forepaws on Balto's chest and bit down on Balto's exposed neck. He reared his back up before biting down on the other side. The bites didn't do much damage to him as Balto uses his left paw to swat the older dog off of him. Balto then stood up and lunged for the malamute with a growl. The two dogs circle each other before leaping at their foe and colliding into a vicious ball of teeth and claws. They landed on the ground with Balto on top of Steele and his teeth tugging on the black and white malamute's shoulder. Steele gave the wolfdog two good kicks with his back feet and it loosened Balto's grip. Balto jumped back when Steele tried to take a bite out of his face. The two glare at each other before they reared up on their hindlegs, grabbed onto each other with their forepaws and got into a power struggle with both of them biting into the other's shoulders. Steele ended up winning the power struggle by using his forepaws to slam them hard into Balto's chest, and thus causing Balto's grip to falter. Steele slams his paws into Balto once more before using his head to knock the wolfdog onto his back. Taking advantage of his downed foe, Steele lunged foe and takes Balto's hindleg into his teeth. Balto grimaced from the pain as the black and white malamute used his strength to pull Balto along and throw him across the edge. Balto rolls until he stops on his belly close to the edge. Looking up towards Steele he gasps when he sees that the older dog has reared up on his hindlegs and tried to stomp down on the wolfdog. Quickly darting to avoid a broken back, Balto then rushes up behind the malamute and bites into the dog's scruff. The wolfdog then tried to use his weight to push Steele over the edge. But Steele wouldn't go down so easy as he used his greater weight to fall backwards. The wind gets knocked out of Balto as they landed against the rock and he releases Steele. Steele then rolled away from Balto as the wolfdog took a moment to catch his breath. He quickly rolled out of the way to avoid another stomp attempt from the malamute and stood up. The two glared at each other before they ran at each other. Time seemed to slow down as both canines reared up on their hindlegs once again and tried to scratch at each other. Steele made the first move with a small scratch to Balto's shoulder. Growling in pain, Balto raises his paw in retaliation and slaps Steele in the face. Steele growled in pain from the blow and drops back down to his paws. Steele staggers a bit before rearing up again and slapping Balto in the face. The blow drew a little blood as the wolfdog growled in pain. Time sped up again as Steele smacks Balto in the face a second time, sending the wolfdog flying backwards. The blow sent Balto flying through another wall of flames. He looks up with a shocked face when he sees Steele jumping through the flames with a snarl on his face. Balto looks at him with a glare as his body tenses up. Just as Steele comes down on him, Balto uses Jenna's move and plants his back feet up against Steele's belly, then kicked upwards to send the surprised dog flying over the edge.

Steele tumbled down the rock slope and crashed on the ground with a hard thump. Balto stood up and panted as he looked down at his enemy. He watches to see if Steele had survived the fall. Steele, through miraculous means, starts to get back up. His eyes are droopy as he looks up to see three figures emerging through the flames. Dusk, Sunrise and Ed walk up to him, and Steele is relieved to see familiar faces. Steele sat up as he said, "Ah, my good friends."

"Fri-he-hends?" Dusk laughs and then looks to Sunrise and reminded, "I thought he said we were the enemy!"

Steele's face turned into horror as Sunrise agreed with her by saying, "Yeah, that's what I heard." Both wolverines looked to their friend Ed and asks, "Ed?"

Ed laughs darky and licks his lips as more and more wolverines start to emerge from the smoke with hungry smiles. Steele starts to feel really afraid as he stammers while trying to explain, "No. L-L-L-Le-Le-Le-Let me explain, please." But his pleas fell on deaf ears as they drew closer, "No. You don't understand." The wolverine clan were dangerously close as he backs up and tries to say, "No! I didn't mean for…" Then he sounded really scared as he tried to apologize, "Look, I'm sorry when I call you… No! NOO!" But nothing worked as the flames grew higher as the wolverines started to jump on him and devour the dog, ending his evil once and for all.

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 **Author's Note:** We're almost done with Wolfdog Chief. I do wish that I didn't have to delete it the first time. But I just didn't feel comfortable with it. The next chapter is gonna be really different, so stay with me to see what happens. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	15. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of either Balto or The Lion King, only the story. The characters of Balto belongs to Universal and the characters of The Lion King belongs to Disney. This chapter is gonna be quite different than in the movie. Plus get ready to see a familiar face. And what I put in this chapter might seem a little weird, but I hope that you all still enjoy it. The only thing that I do own are the OC's of the story. This is just how I did the first time I wrote this story.

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 **Chapter Thirteen: Ascension, Revelations and Arrivals**

The fire continued to rage on Wolf's Peak, but a bolt of lightning and a clash of thunder and it began to rain hard. The fire was quickly quenched and steam rose over the rock formation, making fog envelope Wolf's Peak. The wolverines that had lived through the battle had fled into the stormy night. Muru and Mluk emerged through the fog close to the stone steps. The pack began to converge at the stone steps as Balto emerges from the path and walks down to join them. The pack bows to him as he passes by. Balto walks up to his mother and the mother and son rub head together affectionately after a long time of being apart. Jenna soon joins them and Balto does the same with her, only this time he puts his head beside hers and they rub against each other's necks as if to embrace each other. A clattering sound draws their attention back up the rock formation.

They looked up to see Boris standing at the bottom of the ledge. The shaman goose then motioned to the ledge for Balto to take his rightful place. Balto moves away from his mother and best friend to begin the climb. But then stops when Muru and Mluk walk up to him. Both the mouse and the polar bear bowed to him in respect for his title, but Balto grabs Muru with a paw and wraps a foreleg around Mluk in their friendship and said, "I wouldn't have been able to do this without you guys." He held them tighter and said, "Thank you."

"Aw." Muru said as the wolfdog released them. He waved a paw and said, "We couldn't let anything happen to our pal," He looked up to Mluk and said, "could we?'

"We were happy to help. Now go claim that heritage of yours." Mluk said with a proud smile. Balto smiled at them and then continued his climb. When he reached the top he was met by Boris. The shaman goose graciously bowed to the ascending chief, but Balto grabbed the goose with a forepaw and pulled him in for a hug. Boris, a little startled, wrapped his wings to return the gesture. He pulled away and placed a wing on the wolfdog's shoulder and said, "It is time, boychik."

Balto nodded and then turned away from the shaman goose and started to climb up the ledge. The pack watches in awe as Balto ascends as the rain continues to fall. Aniu's face looks on with a prideful smile for her son, Jenna looks up with happiness for her friend and both Muru and Mluk look in awe and wonder as Balto climbs with a sense of grace and majesty. When he reached the top, Balto looks up to the sky and sees a hole in the clouds. Through the hole he could see the stars shining brightly down on them. A star shines brighter than the others as Balto hears two voices say to him, "Remember."

He could feel Nava and Togo's spirits with him as he truly remembered who he was and who he was meant to be; he is son of Togo, step-son of Nava and he is meant to be one of the great Chiefs of the Territories. Balto smiles for a moment before becoming serious. Taking a deep breath, he lets out a howl that's both grand and harmonious. The members of the pack began to howl with him as they acknowledged him as their leader. Even Muru and Mluk joined in the howling. Boris raised his staff and shook the fruit on it to join in.

A few days later…

Seven days had passed since the battle for Wolf's Peak and the Territories. The sun was just beginning to rise over the land. The pack were still taking time to heal from their injuries. Muru and Mluk were staying in one of the many caves of Wolf's Peak to give them some space. While the rest of the pack rested inside of Wolf's Peak, Balto stood at the edge of the ledge. He gazed out into the Territories as he thought about how he would make it better again. He was pulled out of his thoughts when a voice said from behind, "Mind if I join you?"

Balto looked back to see Jenna standing there with a smile. The wolfdog moved over a little and gestured with his head while he said, "There's enough room for both of us."

Jenna walked up and sat down with Balto as they looked back out. She then asked, "Could I ask you something?"

"Hmm?" Balto asked and looked to her. Jenna looked into his eyes and asked, "I know why you came back, but I still don't understand what kept you away. So, if it's not too much trouble…"

"You want me to tell you what held me back at Hakuna Matata Forest." Balto finished. Jenna nodded and waited for him to say something. He sighed and said, "I guess it wouldn't hurt if I told you."

"It all started right after I had found out that Nava had passed after the stampede." Balto looked down and began from the beginning, "Steele had come up behind us and looked shocked at what had happened. I was already thinking that I had something to do with Nava's death and Steele made it sound even more as if it were my fault." Jenna listened as he went on, "He said that none of you would ever be able to trust me or any other wolfdogs like me. And then he had brought up my birth father." He looked away as he said, "And as I remained with Muru and Mluk, a part of me thought that Steele was right, that wolfdog's like me would be trouble."

"Balto, that's not true." Jenna shook her head. Another voice said from behind, "She's right, my son."

Both of them looked back to see Aniu standing behind them. Then she said, "Steele was only using your grief for Nava to cloud your judgement. He used it to manipulate you, to deceive you from his treacherous nature. He made it seem that the guilt would make you be unable to forgive yourself, even in death or exile."

Jenna placed her head under his and said, "You were not the cause of Nava's death. You would never do anything like that." He glanced down at her as she said, "The pack don't blame you for what happened to Nava." She moved her head back and said, "I would never blame you."

He smiled in appreciation for that. Then he frowned, looked down and said, "I am sorry for abandoning you all like that."

"We forgive you, Balto." Aniu said as she sat down. He listened to her as she said, "Nava wouldn't have blamed you for what happened here either. And neither would Togo." She smiled and said, "I know they would be proud of the chief you have become."

"Heh, yeah." Balto said as he thought about it. He looked back out to the land and said, "I have a lot of work ahead of me."

"I think you mean," Jenna said with a teasing smirk as she pressed up against him, "we have a lot of work ahead of us. You don't have to do it alone."

"Thanks Jenna." Balto said as he looked to her. Paddy flew in overhead and shouted, "Balto, sir! There is a situation!"

Balto stood up and asked, "What is it, Paddy?"

"There is a wolverine standing on the border between the Territories and the Boat Graveyard." Paddy said as he landed in front of the new chief. He added, "She says she wishes to speak with you. She says its about what happened to your father, Togo."

All three canines gasped to this and Balto looked to them. He then said, "Will you both wait here until I get back."

"You aren't going there alone." Jenna said with a shake of her head. Then she warned, "And don't try and stop me."

"Heh, heh. Fine." Balto said and looked to his mother. Aniu bowed and said, "All will be ready for whatever you need, my son."

Balto and Jenna then ran past her and made for the stone steps. When they reached the bottom, they raced towards the ocean. They ran through the barren lands.

When they reached the hill they had come to when they were pups, both canines looked to each other before running down the hill. They stopped before the adjoining hill and waited for the wolverine. It wasn't long before a crimson furred creature came down the hill. Their eyes widened when they saw that it was Dusk. The wolverine didn't sound very caring when she said, "So you made it. Honestly didn't think you'd show."

"You said that you have something to say about my father. My birth father." Balto said. Dusk nodded and said, "That I do. Seeing as how Steele was willing to betray both of us, and him being gone, I didn't think that it would hurt to tell you what happened on that day." She gestured, "So sit down, cause it's kind of a long story."

Balto and Jenna looked to each other as they didn't fully trust her word. Dusk sighed before saying, "Relax, I came alone. So seat your doggy butts down."

They still didn't trust her, but still sat down on the ground. Dusk then started, "It was all part of Steele's plan to try and become chief…"

x

(Flashback to battle at the river)

The pack had just arrived on the scene and watched as many wolverines were attacking the bears. The females stood protectively in front of the cubs while the males fought off those they could. Chief Togo looked to each of his packmates and shouted, "For the Territories!"

"For the Territories!" They shouted as they were with him. The pack then rushed down the hill and towards the battle. Togo tackled one wolverine to the ground and then grabbed it by the scruff. With a mighty heave, he sent the attacking animal into one of its comrades. He jumped out of the way when another tried to swipe at him and smacked it away with his paw. Togo looked around to fight and/or aid where he was needed.

"Togo!" Steele's voice shouted from the side. Togo looked about and saw the black and white malamute running up to him. Togo then shouted, "Steele, where have you been?"

"Sorry," Steele said as he stopped before his chief, "I was a little sidetracked when I heard what was going on." He gestured with his head he said, "I found the ring leader of this group. We take 'em out, the others will stop."

"How do you know?" Togo asked as he was uncertain that this would work. Steele just said, "Come on. Don't you trust me, brother?"

Togo knew that Steele may have been a little hard on him over the last few months, but he also knew that he could count on Steele. He nodded and said, "Let's go!"

Steele led the way and Togo followed him through the battle. When they had left the battlefield, they found themselves going through a patch of forest. Togo followed Steele as the malamute ran by trees, bushes and rocks. They soon came to a drop that led down into a clearing surrounded by trees and briars. Steele then gestured, "The scent leads in there."

"I'll take point." Togo said as he moves in front of Steele. Steele remained behind and quietly said, "I was hoping you would."

Steele then followed after his chief. They entered the clearing and looked about. When they didn't see anything, Togo looked to Steele and said, "I don't see anything. He must've gotten away somehow."

"Oh, I doubt that." Steele said with a smirk. Finding what he said odd, Togo looked back to Steele and said, "What do you mean, Ste-"

He gasped when he saw a small band of wolverines, including a younger Dusk, enter the clearing. Togo then shouted, "Steele, behind you!"

But he became confused when the wolverines walked right past the black and white malamute. He became worried and asked, "Steele? What's going on?"

"Sorry, Togo." Steele said, though he didn't look or sound sorry as he had a smirk on his face. The malamute shrugged and said, "But it's time for some new management."

Togo gasped when the wolverines rushed him. He struck one in the face with his claws and kicked another away with his back paws. As Togo dealt with four of them, one of them snuck up from behind and waited for the right moment. Though it took a while as Togo was able to fend off his friends. One of his comrades lunged for the dog, but Togo grabbed it by the paw and threw it at the one behind him. Both red furred fiends grunted as they tumbled backwards.

Seeing as there was no more wolverines to deal with, Togo made a break for the entrance. But he was proven wrong when he was tackled from the side. He rolled across the ground and when he stopped Togo looked up to see Steele standing over him. With a grim frown Steele said, "You're not getting away that easily."

Togo could only watch in horror as Steele lunged for his throat. The chief of the Territories held him back with his forepaws, but dealing with Steele left him vulnerable to an attack from one of the wolverines. The wolverine came in and bit Togo in the side. Togo grimaced from the pain and he moved one of his paws to swat the wolverine away, but it gave an opening for Steele. The malamute lunged again and bit down on the chief's exposed throat. Togo gasped as Steele started trying to crush his windpipe and struggled to get his attacker off of him. The chief scratched at Steele's sides and face with his paws, but it was futile when the other wolverines joined in on the torment. They bit on his forepaws to keep him from attacking Steele, and clawed at his neck, sides and belly to inflict horrible wounds.

A moment later, Steele released Togo's throat and ordered, "Okay, that's enough."

The wolverines complied and backed off from the assault. Togo was a bloody mess as he gasped for air and winced from the pain. Steele used his head to roll Togo over onto his back and looked down to his fellow dog's face. Steele had a dark and triumphant grin as he leaned down to Togo's left ear and whispered, "I have big plans for the pack. And I won't let your lobo's or your little mutt child stand in my way."

Togo's eyes widened at this and tried to make a swipe at the traitor. But Steele stepped down on his paw and balled his own paw before striking Togo in the face. The blow made Togo see stars as his world faded to black.

Steele leaned down and placed his ear against Togo's side. With a satisfied grin he nodded and said, "He's still alive. Just enough time for me to get him back to Wolf's Peak before his time's up." Maneuvering to where Togo's body was on his back, Steele then ordered, "Go round up the other wolverines and have them retreat back to your hideout. I'll inform you when it's done."

The wolverines nodded and ran out of the clearing. Before she left with the others, Dusk looked back one last time. She could see a sinister smile on the black and white malamute's face as he continued with his plan.

(End of Flashback)

x

"And that's how it happened." Dusk finished. Both Balto and Jenna were truly disgusted by Steele's actions. But the one who was truly suffering on the inside was Balto. He was breathing heavily at what happened to Togo. Dusk then stood up and said, "I just thought that piece should have been filled in."

"And we thank you for that." Jenna said when Balto didn't. Dusk nodded and turned to take her leave. Balto looked up and watched with Jenna to see the wolverine disappear back into her territory.

Balto then stood up and quickly walked away with his head hanging and anger in his heart. Jenna stood up and followed after him. As they climbed the hill Balto began to pick up the pace. Jenna became worried as she ran after him and shouted, "Balto! Wait up!"

Balto didn't slow down as he kept walking. It was only until Jenna moved in front of him and said, "Balto, I know you're upset."

"Yeah, I'm upset." Balto said as he began to pace in front of her. He growled as he said, "I'm upset that Steele would be willing to that to someone whom he was a brother to. Someone that grew up with him."

He turned to the sky and shouted, "They were like brothers to you! They trusted you! And you betrayed them!"

His voice echoes once before fading on the wind. Jenna, never really knowing how Balto feels, came up to him and placed a comforting paw on his shoulder. But he shrugs it off in anger. Jenna watched as he sat down a few feet away from her and hangs his head. She came closer to him and said, "Balto, look at me."

When he didn't she stood in front of him, but he just turned his head away. Jenna, not wanting Balto to shut her out, pushed him down with her forepaws. Balto gritted his teeth when he hit the ground. She held him down as he struggled to get back up. He glared at her as she looked down on him and said, "Balto, I may not ever know how you feel about any of this. But just know that when ever you need to talk to me, I'll be right here for you." Then she added, "You have every right to be mad at Steele for what he did. But you shouldn't let that anger make you bitter. That won't make you any better."

Balto's face softened as he took in her words. She stepped back to let him back up. Balto rolled onto his belly and stood back up. He turned to her and said, "Thanks, Jenna, I'd be lost without you."

She smiled in appreciation to that and moved forward to nuzzle his head. He returned it in full. When they stopped, Balto noticed something in the distance. He saw a puff of smoke and asked, "What is that?"

Jenna looked back and saw the same thing. A tower of smoke billowed close to the shore a few miles to the north. Both Balto and Jenna started running towards it to see what was happening.

They came close to where the smoke was coming from. They climbed a hill in the forest and when they reached the top they looked down to see something sitting by the shore. It looked like a few man made things were sitting next to the beach. Jenna looked about and asked, "What is all of this?"

"I'm not sure." Balto honestly said. They carefully made their way down to the town and stuck to the dried tall grass. They came across a home near the outskirts of the man village. They carefully lifted their heads out of the grass to see what was going on.

They saw the door to the man's home open and something stepped out. A little girl with red hair stepped out into the world and laughed as she ran about her yard. Jenna then quietly said, "She's so pretty."

"Yeah, she is adorable." Balto agreed with a whisper. The little girl stopped and looked out to the tall grass. Both canines dropped down to their bellies before she spotted them. Jenna then started moving towards the house. Becoming worried, Balto whispered, "Jenna, what are you doing?"

But Jenna didn't seem to hear him as she got closer. The little girl was still scanning the tall grass when Jenna lifted her head. The girl gasped when she saw a dog looking at her from the tall grass. The girl was a little frightened at first, but when Jenna slowly came out of the grass her smile returned. The girl knelt down and said, "Hi, I'm Rosy."

A gentle breeze blew grass, fur and hair as the two came closer together. Jenna carefully walked up to the little girl and stretched her head out. Rosy did the same with her hand and held it to the red and white husky. Rosy's smile never faltered as she said, "You're a pretty dog."

"And you're a pretty little girl." Jenna said back. She, Rosy and Balto were all caught off guard that Jenna was able to speak with her. Rosy then asked, "Did you just talk?"

"I guess so." Jenna said, equally confused. The door opened again and two older figures stepped out. Rosy looked back and happily shouted, "Mom, Dad! Look who I found."

"Where on Earth did this beautiful dog come from?" Her father asked. Rosy shrugged and said, "I'm not sure dad. But here's the strangest thing, she can talk."

Her parents looked to her as if she were being adorable and her mother said, "Oh, Rosy, what an imagination you have."

"But it's true." Rosy strongly said. Jenna stepped up next to the girl and said, "It's quite true."

Both Rosy's parents were thrown for a loop when they heard Jenna speak. Jenna smiled and then said, "And I have someone that I'd like you to meet."

Looking back to the tall grass, she gestured with her paw for Balto to come out. The wolfdog was a little hesitant at first, but still came out of the tall grass. Rosy's mother and father were shocked to see the wolfdog emerge from the grass. Balto then tried speaking by saying, "Hello, there."

They were thrown for another loop to hear Balto's voice. Balto then said, "I am chief Balto, leader of the Territories."

As Balto spoke with Rosy's parents, Rosy walked over to Jenna and said, "I have something that you might like."

"What?" A curious Jenna asked. Rosy took something out of her pocket and presented Jenna with an orange bandana. Gently wrapping the cloth around Jenna's neck, the girl then tied both ends together. The girl stepped back and said, "I think it looks good on you."

Jenna was flattered by the gift and turned to Balto. The wolfdog looked to his love and noticed the bandana around her neck. He found it a little difficult to say the words, "I-I-It looks great on you."

Jenna chuckled to how he was acting and stepped forward. The two nuzzled their heads together as Rosy and her parents watched.

And so new friendships were made on that day. The arriving humans had come to start over what their ancestors couldn't. They built a small town called Nome and lived in peace with the neighboring pack. Because of his dog side, Balto and the dog half of the pack were able to speak with the humans. But because he could speak with them, they were able to work together to restore the Territories to its former glory.

x

 **Author's Note:** And this chapter is finished. And I know that me making Balto and Jenna able to talk to man is a little weird, but I did feel like it was necessary to the story. One more to go and then the Ending Credits and then we're done with Wolfdog Chief. I actually like writing this story and still have many other Lion King parodies to write. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	16. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of either Balto or The Lion King, only the story. The characters of Balto belongs to Universal and the characters of The Lion King belongs to Disney. And here is the final chapter of the main story. In this chapter there will be a few more characters at the presentation. The only thing that I do own are the OC's of the story. This is just how I did the first time I wrote this story.

x

 **Chapter Fourteen: The Next Heir**

With the help of the townsfolk from the small town of Nome, their restoration of the Territories went much faster. It still took a few years to restore everything and bring all the herds and other predatory clans back. But it was all worth it to see everything look better than it had under the influence of Steele. The trees and bushes were lush once again, water was flowing through the rivers. But Balto thought that the most glorious sight of all was seeing everyone gathered around Wolf's Peak.

They and the townsfolk were all gathered around Wolf's Peak for a special occasion; the presentation of the next heir. Balto had married Jenna and she had become his mate for life. Aniu, though no longer a direct alpha, was always there for when Balto needed her guidance. Muru and Mluk had decided to stay in the Territories to be their for their wolfdog friend. Today all four friends stood at the edge of Wolf Peak's ledge and gazed out at the gathering. As Paddy circled from overhead, Muru and Mluk looked up to their friend with pride. Everyone down on the ground waited in anticipation to see Balto and Jenna's child as the spirits start to sing once again…

 **Full Chorus:** _Til we find our place_

 _On the path unwinding_

Balto and Jenna look to each other before nuzzling their heads together. Then they both made room as Boris walks between them. In his feathered arms he held their child. The little girl pup lay on her back as she turned to look out at the world with big yellow eyes. A happy grin formed on her face when she saw her mother come close and nuzzle her. Balto did the same and she playfully bats him in the face with her paw.

 _In the Circle_

 _The Circle of Life_

Boris then holds Aleu with both feathery hands and held her high above his head. The pup looks at her surroundings, watching in curiosity of the world around her. She mischievously grins when a breeze carrying some leaves twirls around her and she tried to swipe at it.

 **Full Chorus:** _Circle of… Life!_

Her parents looked on with pride to their daughter. And although she didn't know it at the time, but one day Aleu would be taking on a great responsibility. She would be continuing a great legacy of great chiefs for the Territories and protecting the Circle of Life.

 **The**

 **Wolfdog Chief**

x

 **Author's Note:** And the main story is done. I do apologize for it being so short. And though I have done this once before and have another unfinished Lion King parody, I do hold a little pride when I say that the second Lion King parody is done. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


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